The Dark Lord
by TheMuffinMan6969
Summary: Perseus, The Dark Lord. All will fear him. His empire is larger than any force the Greeks can muster. He wields more power than any god to have ever existed. Not even the Olympians combined can bring him down. Yet, powerful though he may be, he does have weaknesses. He loves his children, his sister, and his goddess too much for a Dark Lord, and will that be his downfall?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Council Has Spoken

**A story I'm experimenting with. Going down the evil Percy route. Update for Scars will be out soon, I'm a third of the way through the next chapter. Percy is evil, but still kinda good, I guess? He does some messed up shit in this story. Plus it's Pertemis. Basically, Percy's the antagonist, but there's two protagonists, and he's also one of them. It'll make more sense once I write the damn story.**

Chapter 1: The Council Has Spoken

"No, please. Leave her! Take me instead! Just leave her be!" The Man said, weakened from his torture and imprisonment. He was once very strong, with a hard mind and fiery determination. Now, this man was a wreck.

The room he lay in was cold, dark, and with no visible way of escape. Shadowy figures surrounded the man, two of them holding him to the ground. He sobbed louder, pleading to a particularly tall figure, or taller than the rest at least.

"Please, I did it! I did what you asked! Just leave us be. Please." More sobs broke out in the room, and the tall figure laughed. His laugh was loud, and had a hint of darkness to it. Three figures behind him joined in as well, these being taller and more authoritative-looking than the rest, but not as much as the man laughing.

The man, who was obviously the leader, was cloaked in darkness, but he had the featureless face of a human. "Bring her out." He ordered, smirking at the sobbing mess before him. The man cried out, and pleaded, but his pleas were soon drowned out by the screams of a girl.

One of the men who were behind him was walking up to them with a struggling girl, who was screaming. "Daddy! Daddy, please! Do something, help!" She cried, and the man on the floor screamed, squirming in the grip of the two figures pinning him down. "Leave her alone!" He begged.

The man in front of him smirked, and reached by his side. He pulled a long, glistening sword from it's hilt, and the man behind him forced the girl to her knees. "You should've behaved, old friend. If only you'd waited a while before trying to get help. Then perhaps you wouldn't be here. And maybe, you should've behaved, because then your precious little girl wouldn't be caught up in this as well." He laughed, and the man on the floor sobbed more.

The man crouched down in front of the prisoner, and whispered to him. "You've made a terrible enemy, my friend. We have to do this. It'll teach you not to get in our way. We would've offered you immunity, you know? And your daughter. But, unfortunately, she will have to be punished for the sins of her father. Say goodbye to your daughter, though I have no doubt you two will be reunited real soon." He smirked, and the man thrashed around.

"NO, NO, PLEASE! I'LL KILL YOU! LEAVE HER! PLEASE!" The man cried.

The leader of these strange shadowy figures approached the kneeling girl with his sword drawn. She cried, her lips trembling and tears flowing down her face. "Please don't hurt me…" She whimpered, and the man grabbed her chin, softly pulling it up so she was looking at him.

She sobbed louder as the man pressed the sword to her throat. "Shh, shh. Don't cry, little one. It will all be over soon. You will be at peace." He soothed, and as she closed her eyes, the man slit her throat.

The man on the ground cried out louder than ever before, and as the man holding his daughter let go of the girl, the man who had just ended her suffering lay her gently on the ground.

The two men holding the sobbing man to the floor let go, and he crawled over and began to cradle his dead daughter's bleeding corpse. Deciding to leave the man to his grief, the shadowy figures left the room, but before he exited, the girl's killer turned around and opened a portal for the man. "Goodbye, old friend." The man said, yet he received no reply, and he left the room.

**Percy's P.O.V.**

I yawned from my throne as Zeus babbled on about some problem that Olympus had yet again. 'What?', you say. 'A throne?' Why indeed, I had a throne now, because I, Percy Danger Jackson, was an Olympian.

So after the Giant War, a lot of things happened. All the heroes who fought in the war were rewarded with something. For the seven, this was godhood. We all accepted, and received and own titles and (in some cases) special jobs/titles. For example, Hazel was made the minor goddess of wealth and kindness, while Jason was not only made the minor god of thunder, but Captain of the Olympian Royal Guard, which was a very high honour.

In my case, since I had not only killed Gaia and a few giants, but Kronos and a couple of Titans as well the previous year, I was offered not only godhood, but Olympian godhood.

I know what you're thinking. 'Percy wouldn't take godhood, he's too pure to accept such a high amount of power' or something like that and well… I had only declined godhood before because of Annabeth, but now that we weren't together…

So listen, a couple of months ago, I had a date with Annabeth. The Giant war was over and done with, and recently we realised that we had never actually been on a date. Thanks to our duties in the war, we'd not really spent any time together romantically, and I wanted to rectify that.

I'm not gonna go into the whole deal, since it's all just bad memories. Basically, I walked down to the beach where I told Annabeth I'd meet her. She wasn't there, so I went and sat down. I heard some weird noises coming from the bushes behind me, and when I checked, I found Annabeth and some guy sucking faces.

We had a heated argument, and before long, I had marched out of there and up to Olympus to cool off. One thing led to another, and I was made the God of Time, Earth, Heroes, Tides and Swordsmanship.

Then the gods decided I was 'too powerful' for a god. If this was the old Zeus, I would be dead by now, but alas, my dear uncle has changed recently. It was put to a vote, and decided that I would become an Olympian, while the extra female throne would be vacant until I placed a female of my choosing onto it.

Now that my boring origin story is out of the way, we can get back to the topic at hand.

Zeus speaks about something that has been bothering Olympus for a few months now. Erebus. The Primordial god of darkness has been aggressive towards Olympus recently, and on some occasions had been tracking down demigods and attacking them.

The god of the skies talked with concern in his voice as the rest of the council remained quiet. "Erebus, the dark primordial has been growing in power lately, as I'm sure you all have noticed. He continues to attack anyone associated with us, and denies any opportunities for us to contact him. Artemis, what of your scouting mission?" He informed the council, and we all turned to Artemis to hear what she had to say.

Artemis looked crestfallen for a minute, and informed us of her findings. "Erebus builds an army. His realm of darkness is on lockdown, no one but his minions enter or leave without his consent. He constructs monuments of himself, and his dark palace has an army of maybe 5000 around it at any one time." The council gasps.

"5000? Impossible." My father, Poseidon, was in disbelief. Olympus hasn't faced an army like that since the days of Ancient Greece. And if what Artemis said, that was only their security.

Artemis shook her head. "I have seen it with my own eyes, Uncle. The fires are at work constantly, it seems as if he is forging with haste. We could not see what it was they were forging, but it was most likely weapons and armor. I don't know what else they could've been making on such a large scale." She said, and the gods agreed with her reasoning.

"But that's not all." She said. "We could not get into his realm, me and the two hunters I brought watched from the mountains surrounding it. We saw something that puts Olympus at great risk, however. He has a spy." The council gasped once again, muttering between themselves about who the spy might be.

I heard Ares argue that it was a minor god, or perhaps one of their children, and that we were wrong to trust them. While he might not have been wrong that it could've been one of them, I found the extra comment a bit tasteless.

Artemis shrugged. "We could not see who it was, we just overheard some of his minions talking about an informant." She said. It came to my mind that perhaps it was someone at camp. Perhaps another kid had gone down the same route Luke had. Manipulated by more powerful forces into hating his own family. I hope I'm wrong.

Zeus sighed and voiced his thoughts to the room. "We will have to keep an eye out for anyone acting suspicious. I trust that the spy is not anyone in this room." He said, narrowing his eyes and looking at all of us. A few of the gods mimicked his action.

"Dionysus!" Zeus barked, causing the slumbering god to jolt out of his sleep. "Mmm, yes?" He yawned. "I hope you'll keep a watchful eye over the demigods. If you see any of them sneaking out of the camp, you will notify us immediately." He ordered, and the god nodded, stretching and getting ready to fall asleep again.

"Even if we get rid of the spy, you heard what Artemis said. His army numbers in the thousands, and even if we combine the two camps we'd still be outnumbered greatly." Demeter piped in, which cause many of the council to grow concerned.

Hermes voiced his idea. "Maybe we could be able to get some more people on our side. If we give them a good enough deal, we might be able to get some of the monsters to fight for us." Once again, some of the council were agreeing with him, but many were in uproar over his idea.

For some, like Ares, it was as simple as "I will never fight alongside any descendant of Typhon, they can all burn in Tartarus!" For some more educated ones, it was more like "Those beasts will never accept a deal below taking a goddess as a wife, or a seat on the Olympian council." Something which I actually agreed with. I'd seen a few monsters in my day, and guys like the minotaur were not the most generous.

"We could find a way to become more powerful than him in a way other than our army. We could think of a way to cripple his armies with only a few moves, so that we're able to face Erebus himself head on. What if we made a weapon with the power to kill a primordial." Athena suggested, and the entire council went silent.

I had to admit, it wasn't a bad idea. A very implausible one- a weapon of that calibre would be almost impossible to make unless we had Chaos herself supply us.

"Impossible! Not even my bolt could do such a thing, and it was forged by the best!" Zeus bragged, and I laughed at hearing my dad mutter about how he's got a cool weapon made by the same guys too, while my Uncle Hades sulked that he didn't even _get _a weapon.

Surprisingly, _I _was the one who came up with the next idea. "What if we made multiple very powerful weapons? Ones like Zeus' bolt and Poseidon's trident. That way when used together in battle, their power will multiply for each weapon." This was met by a roar of approval, notably by everyone except for Zeus.

"No! If we allow everyone to have weapons of mass destruction, then if another civil war breaks out, the destruction will be massive!" He argued, and even though I knew Zeus just didn't want anyone to be as powerful as him, I could tell he had a point.

The Olympians began to argue, as they also saw through him for what his true reasons for not wanting more WMD's to be made were. I refrained from joining the chaos, along with Artemis, Hestia and Hephaestus, as we sat quietly on our thrones and waited for them all to shut up. I met Artemis' gaze, and I rolled my eyes at the other gods, making her laugh.

"WAIT, EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" Hestia stood up and yelled, making all the Olympians stop in their tracks. She sighed, shutting her eyes to calm down for a few seconds, and then as if nothing happened, she clapped her hands and smiled, giving us her idea.

"How about, instead of giving everyone an opportunity to do great evil with their newfound power, we make a few new weapons, just enough to beat Erebus, and we give them to our most trustworthy warriors. The ones least likely to get corrupted by their power."

For the first time in a long time, the Olympian's vote was unanimous. Everyone thought that Hestia's idea was agreeable, but I knew the real trouble would come on trying to decide who would obtain one of these weapons. The problem with the Olympian council, most of them want power.

Sure enough, when Zeus brought up who the mighty warriors wielding the weapons would be, most of the council voted for themselves. In fact, only a few people had more than one vote for them. Zeus sighed, and rubbed his temples in frustration, before summoning his bolt. With a mighty roar of "SILENCE!", he threw the bolt on the ground, causing a shockwave which threw everyone back into their seats.

He calmed down, and said quietly. "Now, let's handle this the way we taught the ancient Greek people to settle things. Democratically. We shall set it up like this. Everyone will get one vote, and they cannot vote for themselves. All the Olympians aside from Hades, Poseidon and I are up there, since we already have ours. So, we shall go through each Olympian, and raise your hand if you wish to use your votes. Anyone with their vote leftover at the end will be forced to choose. Agreed?" He proposed, and, finding no fault with it, we nodded.

"Alright." The sky god stood up, and summoned a whiteboard so that we could all see it. He proceeded to write the names of all 12 Olympians that weren't him or his brothers, but was interrupted by Hestia. "Brother, I voluntarily withdraw my name from this ballot. Even if I gained a weapon, I am a peaceful goddess, I could not raise arms against our enemy." She told him, and he nodded, rubbing her name off.

Dammit, there goes maybe my vote.

Zeus turned to us all, and read out the first name. "Who votes for Hera?" Silence. I honestly felt bad for Hera. First one up and no one even thinks about doing so. Zeus moves on. "Demeter?" Again, silence. That was disappointing. Demeter is often overlooked.

Zeus moves to the next. "Ares?" Finally, some hands go up. Dionysus, Hera, and Aphrodite all raised their hands, and while I knew Ares was one of the best fighters on Olympus, I desperately hoped he wouldn't abuse his power. "Athena?" Again, some hands went up. Hermes, Demeter and Ares voted for her, and I thought that was a smart. She was the best tactician in the world, so she could make up for that while ares makes up for her lack of brawn. Zeus marked those votes down too.

"Apollo?" Zeus asked, and Apollo perked up, wondering who'd vote for him. He was disappointed to see none did. Not even his twin sister. "Artemis?" Even more hands went up. Zeus, Apollo and Athena all voted for her, and seeing no one else I'd rather vote for, I raised my hand. The goddess smiled at me, and I gave her my signature lopsided grin.

Now Artemis had set the new record, we went for a long period of no votes? "Hephaestus? Aphrodite? Hermes? Dionysus?" Zeus went through them quickly, catching onto the pattern and knowing what was coming next. Me being the dense guy I am, didn't, and was utterly surprised at what happened next.

"And Perseus?" Zeus finished, and my eyes widened when five hands went up. Artemis, Poseidon, Hestia, Hades, Hephaestus all voted for me, and I smiled at each of them, mine and Artemis' gazes holding for a bit longer than needed for some reason.

Wow, I got the highest amount of votes. That gave me a little boost in self-confidence.

"Then it is decided." Zeus said, the board vanishing. "Ares, Athena, Artemis and Perseus shall be the next gods to wield master weapons. Let us hope they use them only for the benefit of Olympus and not for… personal gain." He said, his eyes flicking to a smug Ares for a fraction of a second.

Zeus sat back in his throne. "Hephaestus! You shall be in charge of the forging. The four aforementioned gods will inform you of what weapon they work best with, and you forge them. Understood?" He asked, and Hephaestus nodded, happy to finally be able to attempt creating a master weapon, something he had been banned from doing ever since he got good at smithing.

Zeus, satisfied, turned to the council. "Does anyone else have a matter of importance they'd like to bring up?" He asked, and I felt relieved when no one said yes. Zeus slammed his bolt on the ground, thundering out "Council dismissed." Before flashing out with a boom.

One by one, all the gods did so, and as I was about to flash back to camp to hang out with my friends, a hand grabbed onto my shoulder. I turned around, and was surprised to see Artemis there.

She said nothing other than "Meet me at my hunter's camp at Yellowstone tonight." And when I nodded my head, she smiled kindly and flashed out. Why was Artemis acting so kindly to me, wasn't I still a male? Did she think she was obligated to after the whole Mount Othrys fiasco? I don't know, I'll ask her tonight.

I flashed back to camp, intent on seeing my friends and hanging with them until I had to go meet Artemis.

**So that's this first chapter done. I've got a lot of ideas for this story and I'm experimenting with it. Please tell me what you think of this story, and be more specific than 'Looks good.' Tell me what you like or don't like, after all, this is an experiment. Have a great day guys, Chapter 2 will be up soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Distant Memory

**I'm back. I'm typing this like a minute after posting the first chapter, so I don't know how well it did, but if you're still reading, thanks!**

Chapter 2: A Distant Memory

The door creaked open, waking the man from his slumber and casting a light on the bed from the hallway. The man in the bed thought that he'd merely forgot to shut the door fully, and a draught had blown it open, perhaps from a servant walking by quickly.

That thought changed when he heard an unmistakable voice call out to him. "Daddy?" His daughter whispered loudly in the dark, checking to see if he was awake.

He shuffled around in his bed until he was facing the half-open door, propped up on his elbow. A small figure stood in the doorway, her shadow ever so bright due to the fact that she was blocking the light from the hallway.

The man rubbed his eyes and yawned, tiredly asking his daughter, yet in a soft and caring voice. "What are you doing up at this time of the night, princess?"

His daughter looked very similar to the man, but with many features similar to the woman he half-designed her after. She had long black hair that went down to her mid-back, and bright silver eyes that had a tint of gold in them, with some flecks of green thrown in. She wore a long white nightgown that went down to her ankles, and she didn't look any older than 5 or 6.

She rubbed her arm sheepishly, and refused to meet her father's eyes. "I couldn't sleep. I woke up from a nightmare a while ago, and I couldn't get back to sleep. Plus the pig next to me snoring didn't help much." She said, cringing slightly at the thought of her twin brother.

The man laughed, remembering what his eldest son and second eldest child had sounded like when he'd fallen asleep in the living room multiple times. It was so bad that it actually got to the point where his younger brothers and older sister had to beat him with pillows so he'd wake and shut up. Of course, the man hadn't done anything to stop his children's play fights. If that's how they wanted to learn combat, so be it. It's an effective strategy.

She continued. "I thought about going and sleeping in those other loser's room, but between the living conditions and the teasing they'd give me, I decided not to." She cringed at the thought of her two youngest brothers.

Once again the man laughed. "A smart choice, princess. I'm glad all the lessons from Aunty Nyx has been paying off. At least you're _actually _learning something, unlike _some children_." The man thought, thinking of his sons.

His children all had private lessons with their Aunty Nyx, where she taught them all they needed to know. Basic stuff like English and Math, stuff about the Greek world, and eventually when they got older, battle strategies and how to properly lead an army and stuff like that. They would make fine additions to his cause, and he couldn't be more proud of his kids.

Even if only two of them really paid attention in the lessons, the man didn't mind. He knew his other two sons wrestling in the back would grow up to be better warriors than tacticians. Either way, he was proud of all his kids, and he was sure that if she ever met them, their 'mother' would be too.

A breeze from the hallway caught his daughter, and she shivered uncontrollably. The man smiled, and pulled up his bedsheets for her, inviting her to hop in. She smiled and obliged, snuggling into her father's comfortable embrace and the warm bed sheets that now protected her from the frost they had been experiencing in the last few weeks.

The man hugged his daughter tightly, relishing in the way she felt in his arms. It was as if he never wanted to let go, like he would give up everything just to stay like this forever.

Unfortunately, that could not be, and the sun will soon rise and while he would go out and command his armies, lead his empire, his daughter would go off to her lessons to grow her intellect.

Once that was finished, and the four of them had devoured their lunch, they would go play together. Perhaps they'd go wander the fields, or explore the forest, or take the hidden path up the mountain to go see their Uncles and Aunts through the valley.

All were dangerous of course, you could never be too careful in this realm. Still, the man wasn't worried. He had enough soldiers throughout the realm that if they got into trouble anywhere, someone would arrive to help within a minute.

His children were adventurous lot, and often found themselves in trouble. No really serious trouble. Usually they just pissed off one of their Aunts and Uncles, or one of them pushed too hard and hurt their sibling, but the man was never mad. In times like those, they handled it respectfully and dutifully, apologizing to whoever they pissed off and helping their sibling back home to a medic.

The man found his daughter had gone quiet in his embrace, though he knew she was awake since her breathing hadn't evened out. Perhaps she was reminiscing about her nightmare.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "You wanna talk about it, Princess?" He asked, and slightly felt her shake her head no. He respected her wishes and didn't approach it again. Perhaps it was a bad one, like his youngest son sometimes got which would traumatize him for weeks on end. He'd just have to see in the morning.

The man closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep, but was surprised when he heard his daughter's voice again. "Daddy?"

He looked down at her beautiful eyes, and whispered. "Yes, Princess?" Thinking it was about the nightmare. She hesitated for a moment, which concerned him, before she looked at him with confusion and sadness in her eyes. "Who's my mommy?"

That question took him by surprise. He'd never mentioned their 'mother' around them, and they grew up believing that he just poofed them into existence, which he technically did, but it was more complicated than that.

They didn't just have the genes of the man himself, but the woman he loved too. That way they wouldn't just be clones of himself. All his children could be told apart, and their features mixed with that of their father and mother's. Sometimes they even inherited one of their grandparent's features or personality, which could be good depending on what it was.

The man thought for a bit on how to answer the question, choosing the stall by asking. "What brought this up?" She merely shrugged and looked down.

"I don't know. I guess in the movies we watch, a lot of the time they have loving mothers who raised them with care and I wonder, why don't we have that?" She said, starting to get really sad at the thought of not having a mother.

The man frowned at seeing his daughter so sad. He couldn't exactly blame their mother, since she didn't even know they existed, and even if she did, she probably couldn't see them whether she wanted to or not.

The man held his daughter closer. "Princess, it's complicated. I'll say it now to quench your curiosity, yes, you do all have a mother, but at the same time, you don't. You see, Daddy made you all by himself. He was lonely and wanted someone he could care for as his own, and so he created two children. He combined their genes with that of the woman he loved, and after that, you and your twin brother were born. After that he created another boy, and then another boy after that." He explained, and his daughter nodded, slightly getting it.

"So is she our mommy then?" She asked, and the man sighed. "You are all what children between me and her would look like. Be like. You all have souls of your own. You are living creatures bearing her blood, so yes, she is technically your mother, though she did not give birth to you." He explained, and she now understood fully.

"Oh, okay. Can we see her?" She asked, and as the man said no, he felt his heart break as tears fell from her eyes. "Hey, hey, hey, don't cry, Princess. Don't cry." He hugged her tighter, and she cried into his shirt.

"I just want Mommy." She sobbed, and the man felt tears of his own coming soon. He kissed her forehead, and whispered to her softly. "You shall meet her someday, Princess. I promise. And even though she didn't raise you, she will love and care for you as if she did. I promise you, Princess." He soothed, and she didn't respond.

He stayed silent after that, letting her pour her sadness out on his shirt, and after a while, he felt her breathing even out, indicating she'd fallen asleep. Not long after, the man joined her in the realm of Morpheus.

The man woke hours later to find the sun peaking through his curtains and onto his face. He realised that sometime while he was asleep, his daughter had gotten up and left. He presumed she had gone to her lesson, or was at least getting ready for her lesson. Hopefully she had woken her brothers up.

Getting up, the man threw on some casual clothes that he could walk around in, while his cloak was active that would change his casual clothes into his Royal clothes at his will.

He walked past his children's room, and looked into both of them to find his children gone, hopefully on time for their lesson. He walked throughout his palace, and once he reached his throne room, the clothes he was wearing transformed into black and gold armor, a crown with a multicoloured gem adorning his head.

**Percy's P.O.V.**

I left the Zeus cabin with a smile adorning my face. Jason and Piper were visiting Camp Half-Blood, and they had just informed me of the good news. My buddy Jason had knocked up his girlfriend, so basically the two were expecting.

I'd given them my congratulations, and then they'd dropped the bomb on me. Not only were they expecting, but they wanted me, _me_, to be their child's godfather. WHAT?

I'd freaked out at first, and didn't respond. It took them shaking me roughly to get me to snap out of it, and as soon as I did, my mouth blurted out "Yes!" The two of them cheered, and after a celebratory drink between the three of us, I remembered that I had to meet Artemis. After some goodbyes and more congratulations, I left and here we are now.

Not knowing exactly where the Hunter's camp was, I flashed to Yellowstone and began to wander around aimlessly. Perhaps Artemis was on the lookout for me and would see that I was here. Unfortunately for me, Yellowstone is pretty big, and it took me ten minutes to find something.

There were marks in the snow, larger than a rabbit or wolf footprint, but not big enough to be a bear's. I figured that they were probably human, so I followed the trail. The trail was long, and I ended up walking for another fifteen minutes, before I saw an orange light through the trees.

A campfire? Bingo.

I approached the camp, praying that they wouldn't shoot me on sight for trespassing. Of course, they didn't, but what happened next wasn't much better. I put my foot down on the ground in front of me, as you do when you're walking, and I heard a metallic click.

Next there was a loud crunch, and one of the worst pains I've ever been put through, almost as bad as the Styx, occurred in my leg, and I fell to one knee. A bear trap. The motherfuckers had traps around their camp, oh gods of course they did. They're hunters! I'm so sh*tting, f*cking, c*nting stupid! And now this happened!

Sorry, I do that when I'm in pain.

I heard the sound of wood stretching and bending, and I looked up. About two dozen girls surrounded me, all with their bows drawn and aimed at me.

I groaned and looked at my leg. Gods, it was a mess. Ichor was pouring everywhere, and the actual leg itself was hardly still holding on. I'd need some medical help soon. Immortal, my ass. I'm not taking any chances. Plus they might actually be able to fix the leg.

I raised my hands in surrender, but they did not lower their weapons. "I come in peace. I'm just here to see Lady Artemis." I told them, but it didn't help. If anything, it made it worse, since they were now more suspicious of me.

"What would you want with Lady Artemis, _boy_." A voice I didn't recognize asked, and a different huntress crept closer to me, her bow in her hands. "She told me to meet her at Yellowstone. She wanted to tell me someone. Now can you help me out of this trap?" I told them, and the girl who'd come over touched my leg a bit too hard for my liking.

She held up her fingers to look at them, and then turned her attention towards a different hunter. "It's Ichor, he's an immortal, Thalia." She said. "I don't care, Charlotte. He's still a male who was trying to sneak into our camp!" I heard a familiar voice say in anger.

My head snapped up. "Wait. Thals?" I asked, surprised. The girl didn't answer, and then as if a switch was flicked in her head, she dropped her bow and ran towards. "Percy!? Oh gods, no."

Thalia dropped down to her knees by my side, cursing as she inspected my wound. "Dammit! It really did a number on you. These things _are _meant for bears, after all. Oh gods, Percy. I'm so sorry." She rambled, tears forming in her eyes and evident disgust on her face at the gore.

"Wait, this is Perseus Jackson? The one who saved milady and befriended Zoe?" A hunter asked, and raised her hand as some sort of field command. The hunters all holstered their bows, and some came to inspect the wound.

Thalia turned to the crowd. "Someone go and get Lady Artemis. We'll get him out of this and into the medical tent." She said, and a brunette hunter ran off towards the fire.

Three hunters came and held me, while Thalia worked on getting the trap reset. I felt myself getting lightheaded, and the more she worked on the trap, the more my leg hurt. "Ah, shi- damn." I caught myself, seeing hunters as young as five watching this.

Another hunter caught onto that fact as well, and ushered them away. Thalia figured out how to unlock it, and prepared to do it. I stopped her. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, Thals. Is it gonna hurt?" I asked, sweat pouring down my forehead and more Ichor pouring out.

Thalia nodded. "You're right." She said, which didn't give me any answers. She stood up, and jogged off over to a tree. The next time she was in my line of sight, she was holding a thick branch she had cut off with her knife.

She prepped it like a baseball bat, and ignoring my loud protests, she told me "Sweet dreams, Kelp Head." She then smashed it over my head.

I felt mind-numbing pain wash over me, and my vision became blurry and a bit red. I heard Thalia curse, and I looked up to see her swinging again. "Sorry Perce." She said before she hit me again, doing nothing but causing more pain.

The hunters held me as I groaned out in agony, and in my peripheral vision I could see the hunter who'd run off before returning with Artemis, who had a worried look on her face. I mumbled something, but Thalia mistook that for an agonizing groan, and hit me hard on the head three times.

She hit me so hard that the hunters' grips slipped on me, and I fell to the ground, my leg getting sliced more as it reached a new angle. The last thing I saw was Artemis running over before my heat hit a rock, finally knocking me out.

Fuck you, Thals. You can't hit for shit.

I entered a dream-like state, where I was sort of just there, but stuff was happening around me. I was aware it was a dream, or I did after I realised I wasn't a ghost, anyway.

I looked around, and I was standing on top of a really rocky terrain. Nowhere I'd been before, except maybe Tartarus, but that was more red. This was more like a forest with no trees, grass or anything organic.

I heard a loud clanging noise coming from over a ridge nearby, so I went to check it out. I looked over, and saw 6 people.

There were five men and two women, all standing in what seemed to be some sort of man-made put with wooden platforms around it. It kinda looked like the fighting pit that I had fought that one guy in back in the Labyrinth. What was his name again? I dunno, something Greek. I don't pay attention to their names.

Anyway, there were two actual adults. There was a woman with long dark hair, a black dress that ran down to her ankles, and very pale skin. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, and she held a long black whip at her side. I recognized her immediately, since I had encountered her before. Nyx, the Primordial of the Night.

The other adult was a man, and though I couldn't see his face, I had to guess he was in his twenties. He was taller than the rest, wearing armor made out of what looked like Stygian Iron, and a horned helmet sat atop his head. He had a long black cape, and he stood in the middle of the fight pit, holding a sword at his side.

The other four were all teenagers, three boys and a girl, and they all looked to be around 15 or 16. Three stood to the side, the girl with Nyx, while the other teen, a skinny kid holding a bow.

He had a gaunt face, and a slightly manic look in his eyes. He had two daggers in his hands, and he was in a fighting stance. He wore nothing but some jeans and a long coat, since it was a chilly day wherever we were. If he was an animal, he'd definitely be a snake or something like that.

The girl that stood next to Nyx was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, black hair swept to the side, though some still covered her right eye. She fiddled with a sword about the same size as Riptide, though it was shining gold. Not Imperial gold, more like if Imperial gold was demigod gold, then that sword was made out of Olympian gold. She wore a green shirt, with some black skinny jeans and combat boots, and she seemed to be talking with Nyx, though they both had their eyes on the middle of the pit.

Two guys stood off to the side, not really paying attention and getting rowdy out of what I assume was boredom. If these guys were demigods, they must have got a bad case of the godly ADHD.

One was significantly larger than the other. I could tell he was muscular, even though he was wearing a hoodie. He wasn't Arnold Schwarzenegger muscular, more like he did your average Marine military training, that kind of muscular. He sorta reminded me of a wolf. He had weirdly long canines, which glinted whenever he grinned, and was already showing signs of facial hair. His midnight black hair was a bit ruffled up, as if he'd been rolling around all morning, sorta like mine was constantly.

He had another teenager in a headlock, who was repeatedly punching him in the gut to escape. Eventually, he missed his gut either purposely or was running out of stamina and couldn't aim properly, and he socked the guy right in his ballsacks. The guy let go of him and fell to his knees, clutching his sack, and the guy stood up triumphantly.

This last kid had auburn hair, which was neatly done so that he wasn't a complete wreck like the guy who had him in a headlock. He wore a grey shirt, sweat pouring down his slightly tanned skin as he wiped his forehead. "Good one, but not good enough, dickweed." He mocked, making the guy on the ground growl.

He sorta reminded me of apollo, but with a different hair and skin colour. Whereas Apollo was white and blonde, this kid was slightly tanned like he'd been to the beach recently and he had dark auburn hair.

The guy in the armor snapped his fingers at them, which would've been hard to do with a metal glove. "Hey, you two. Watching and learning, remember." He said, and the two teens glared at each other, now paying attention to the fight.

The man in armor wielded his sword. "All right, come at me." He told the crazy kid, and said kid lunged at him with his knives. The man easily parried his strike, chastising him. "You're getting slower." He said boredly.

The kid growled, and ran at him. The man moved to block his strike, but the kid feinted and got behind him, slashing at the back of my man's chestplate and laughing.

The man turned around, taunting him again. "Not bad. But its not hard to improve on garbage. Let's try this differently." The man said, and my eyes widened at what happened next.

The man's sword reshaped into a gold mace, and he grew from about six feet to ten feet tall, towering over the kid. I saw the girl standing with Nyx smirk, as if she knew what was coming next.

The kid ran for the man's legs, his daggers out, but the man was expecting this. With one clean sweep, he knocked the kid to the side of the pit. He shrunk back to normal size, and his weapon disappeared. "You must learn to use your bow in situations where brute force is useless. That's why you have it, son." The man said, and the kid nodded as he got up, defeated, and went to stand by the girl.

I assumed the girl was his sister. Actually, I assumed they were all siblings, since they looked so much alike. They appeared to all be children of this man, and perhaps Nyx too, I wasn't sure what she was doing here.

The man turned to his other kids and asked "Who's next?" When neither of the guys who were previously fighting volunteered, the girl rolled her eyes and stood in the middle.

The man chuckled. "Good. You're not afraid of a challenge." He said, causing the other guys to frown at his joke, and both of them got into fighting stance.

"Ready?" The man asked, and when the girl nodded, her sword drawn, the man said. "Go!" And they raced towards each other.

That's all I got to see unfortunately, since I was immediately sucked back out into the real world.

**Okay, so that was chapter two. As you can see, I've introduced Percy's kids, but I want you, yes you, to name them. You got the girl, the muscular guy, the crazy skinny guy, and the guy who obviously likes talking to girls. I have no idea what to name them, so give me ideas. Yes, they are Percy and Artemis' kids so making them namesakes of people they knew is permitted.**

**Word count: 4036**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Nursing A Wound

**I'm back again. So far, I've only got one name that I'm sticking with, so I need more suggestions. They won't actually become important characters until a bit into the story. For this first part of the story, before Percy becomes a dark lord, will be focused completely on Percy and Artemis' relationship and the forging of the weapons. I won't tell you what the next parts will be about, other than the fact that Percy goes rogue and becomes a dark lord.**

Chapter 3: Nursing A Wound

**Percy's P.O.V.**

My dream faded away, and I woke up drearily. My head felt fuzzy, and I turned it, which was more like it slumping to the side. My eyes set upon a girl with black hair, her head in her hands. She was quiet, and it took me a moment to process that I was looking at Thalia.

She was either asleep, or just wasn't saying anything. I'll admit, I didn't _try_ and get her to speak, since I was only half-conscious. I just turned my head to the other side.

I was surprised to see someone else sitting there, who I instantly recognized as Artemis. She was asleep, leaning forward with her head resting on one hand. I saw that it was still dark outside, since the tent itself was lit only by the orange glow of the campfire outside and a candle on the table next to me, along with some medical supplies.

As I regained feeling of my body, I became aware of two distinct feelings. One was the searing pain coming from my right leg. It sung a lot, and I looked down at it. The wound was obviously treated to, as it was bandaged up and the bleeding had stopped. I don't know what else they did, but I'm sure they'll tell me when they wake.

Speaking of which, the other feeling. I looked to my right again, but this time down at my arm, which lay flat at my side. A hand was resting on my arm, palm down, and I followed the arm up to realise it was Artemis' hand. The man-hating goddess was holding me while I slept.

I blushed furiously, glad that no one was awake to see me in such a way, but I didn't move my arm or remove her hand. I simply let her rest while I lay there quietly, looking at the ceiling.

After a couple minutes, I sighed, which caused Thalia to snap her head up. I looked over at her, and saw dried tear stains on her face. "Percy!" She yelled in shock, and immediately tackled me in a hug, which hurt my leg and shocked Artemis out of her sleep.

I groaned from the pain and hugged her back weakly as she sobbed into my chest. "I thought I was gonna lose you, Kelp Head. Don't do that to me again!" She sobbed, beating my chest with her fist. I groaned again, and nodded, though she couldn't see it.

"Sure thing, Thals. I'll do my best not to step into any bear traps next time." I joked, and she got off me, sitting back in her chair and mock-glaring at me for the joke.

I heard Artemis clear her throat next to me, and I turned to look at her. She smiled at me with a slight red tint in her cheeks, and I noticed her hand wasn't on my arm anymore. "I'm glad you're alright, Percy. We've stopped the bleeding and bandaged up the wound. Luckily, since you're a god, you have a slight natural regeneration ability. All it really does is speed up the time it takes to heal, and the only thing it instantly heals are small cuts and bruises, but it helped." She told me, and I nodded.

Then I did a double take. "Wait, I can regenerate?" I asked in shock, and the goddess nodded. "Yes, but like I said, it's that effective. It fully heals small things, and just speeds up the healing cycle. That's why you don't see gods with scars unless they choose to keep them, and why the gods are so hard to kill. They require enough to kill ten mortal men before they have to reform. To completely fade would require something a lot worse than mortal wounds." She explained, and I lay back, letting that sink in.

I wonder what else they didn't tell me about becoming a god.

"I'm glad you have that, Percy, because combine your leg with the hits I gave you, and I don't think you would've survived as a mortal." She said, and it just occurred to me now that I can only see out of one eye.

I held my hand up to my face in shock. "Where did my left eye go?" I asked, and Thalia cringed, while Artemis narrowed her eyes at her lieutenant. "Tell him, Thalia." She said, and my cousin rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Well, you have a thicker skull than I thought Kelp Head, and I may have hit you a bit too hard. Again, thank the gods you're immortal." She said, trying to make light of the situation.

I decided to mock her. "Whatever Thalia, you can't hit for shit. It was the rock that knocked me out." She glared at my statement, though she didn't argue, which made me smirk.

Thalia cleared her throat. "Anyway, I may have hit too hard, like I said, because your eye is… pretty fucked up." She said, and I frowned. "What do you mean by that? Did my eye pop out? Do I still have an eye?" I asked kinda worried, but they shook their heads.

"Thalia here hit you so hard that your eye started bleeding internally, so you will most likely be blind in that eye for the next couple days, maybe weeks." Artemis explained, and I instantly turned to Thalia, not really mad but still kind of annoyed.

"What the hell, Thalia? At least do it in one swing! Why did you even try and knock me out. I asked 'will it hurt?' not, 'please put me out of my misery.' That was a complete jump in logic to go from answering a question to beating me with some wood." I scolded her, and she looked down in shame.

"Sorry Percy. I just didn't want you to be in pain." She explained, and I sighed. I hated seeing her like this. She was supposed to be the strong one. I reached over and hugged my cousin, feeling her tense up as soon as I did, but almost immediately relax.

I looked over at Artemis, and she was staring with suspicion in her eyes at Thalia and I, though I reassured her with a wave of my hand. She calmed down after that, and we waited for Thalia to do so as well. After our five minute hug, she squirmed, and I let go.

Thalia stood up and brushed herself off. "I'm gonna go tell the girls that Percy's alright." She said, and Artemis nodded, waving her off. I looked at Artemis. "The hunters were worried about me?" I asked, and Artemis shrugged. "Well, yes, but they would probably never admit that. They'd just say they were worried about incurring my wrath or something. But yes, they were worried. You are the only male they respect, after all. Ever since you took the sea sky for me a few years go, plus the fact that you were Thalia's best friend and managed to befriend Zoe, who was the second biggest man hater after me."

I nodded, and looked at my leg. "Will I be able to walk?" I asked her, and she shrugged. "We'll find out in the morning. You will regain your eyesight and mobility soon. Faster than a mortal would. We'll get Apollo to come check you out tomorrow." She told me, and I understood.

I lay back in preparation to sleep, but I noticed she was still beside me. "Are you not going to bed?" I asked her, and she shook her head. "I'll get some sleep here, in case something happens in the night." She told me, and I smiled. It was nice to have a friend like Artemis. She may be a man-hater, but once you get past that, she was really nice and caring.

I shut my eyes as Artemis whispered to me. "Sweet dreams, Perseus."

I woke up when the sun started blaring light through the tent and into my eye. I squinted, trying to get used to the light, and it took me a moment to do so. Once I could open my eye without crying, I checked to see if Artemis was still here.

Indeed she was, although she was passed out in her chair. I smiled, thinking she probably went to sleep immediately after I did. My arm reached out and gently shook her awake. I smiled as she pouted while opening her eyes. It was kinda cute, the way she did it.

Surprisingly, she didn't object to my arm remaining on her shoulder for a bit longer than necessary, and just yawned. She smiled at me, stretching. "Good morning, Percy." She greeted, and I returned the gesture.

I yawned, getting up from the bed and setting my feet gently on the floor. Preparing myself for the pain of standing up, I took deep breaths and gripped the bed. Before I got up though, Artemis came by side and held onto me. I blushed as her arms grabbed me, and I noticed she did for a second, too.

She said to me. "Okay, Percy, this may or may not work. There's a good chance that since you're kinda new to godhood, it didn't heal fast enough and you're still crippled." She warned and I nodded, now more worried about standing.

"Okay. Three. Two. One. Go." I said, and stood up once I finished. She struggled under my weight, but eventually, I was able to walk, though Artemis kept her arm around my waist just in case, while I had my arm around her shoulders.

I limped outside, and I must say, they were quite bipolar in their reactions. The second we left the tent, the hunters sitting by the fire eating breakfast saw us, and they shouted with a happy tone in their voice. "Percy! You're okay!" I smiled at the thought that these man-haters were happy I wasn't dead, but that changed when their faces turned sour not long after.

I frowned. "What?" I asked, and a hunter I recognized as Phoebe snarled at me. "What are you doing to our Lady?" She asked, and I looked at Artemis and realized what we were doing. We both snapped our hands back from each other in embarrassment, and stood there awkwardly. The hunters didn't question it, and went back to their breakfast.

Artemis and I walked over, seeing that they had cut up some bear, and grabbed some for ourselves. We cooked it over the fire, and once it was cooked enough to eat, we dug in. It was kinda like steak, but a bit more soft, but that could've just been that we undercooked it. Still, it filled me up, and I didn't feel like seconds, unlike most of the hunters.

It seemed to be the Hunter's day off, as they didn't go doing anything for the entire morning, choosing to sit by the now defunct campfire and socialize with each other. I sat between Thalia and Artemis the whole time, making small conversation with some of the hunters. Most of my attention went to the people sitting on either side of me, really the only people here I knew.

I was talking with Artemis about random things, when a bright flash took us all by surprise. The hunters immediately grabbed their weapons, but lowered them when the saw it was Hermes, and it looked like he was on the job. He looked around and saw Artemis and I sitting there.

He grinned. "There you two are! Athena told me to tell you guys that she's going to Hephaestus to sort out the you-know-what." He said, covering his mouth with his hand so the hunters couldn't hear. He was bad at it though, and the Hunters rolled their eyes at his lack of subtlety.

"Anyway, Ares is going so you guys might as well go too, and get it all sorted today." He recommended, and the two of us nodded. When he flashed out, Artemis stood up, and I followed suit. She quickly explained to her hunters that she would be back later, and the two of us flashed to Hephaestus' palace.

We got there, but found a note taped to a door. 'At Mount Saint Helens' It read, and so we shrugged, and travelled there.

When we got there, we saw Hephaestus standing by a workbench, Ares and Athena standing at his side as they all looked at something on the bench. We approached and greeted the trio, after which only Athena greeted us back. Ares and Hephaestus just gave grunts of recognition.

We ignored them, and looked down at what they were doing. Hephaestus was drawing something on a piece of paper, though I couldn't tell what it actually was. It was most likely blueprints of some kind, but it didn't seem to matter anyway, since he rolled it up and put it away. "Thank you for that Athena. Anyways, now that the other's are here, we can begin." Hephaestus said, and he went over to a pile of stuff.

He fiddled around for a bit, and came back with something wrapped in cloth. He set it down on a table, and reached for some tools. "Many millennia ago, when the elder cyclopes forged the Big Three's weapons, they did so in a forge of high power, using elements of only the highest quality. They concentrated power through these weapons using the Big Three's domains, effectively making them as powerful as they are." He explained, and even though I barely understood, I went along with it.

Athena piped in. "So we need a very powerful forge, some strong elements, and to charge the weapons with our domains." She summed up, and Hephaestus nodded. "And we got some of those. There's only one problem, well technically two, but I'll get to that." He said, and continued before we could butt in.

"First thing, I high quality element capable of containing such power. As they are not stable enough, Celestial Bronze, Imperial Gold, and even Stygian Iron would all shatter if it came into contact with the amount of power we're going to be infusing with these weapons. Fortunately, I have a solution, though you're probably not going to like it." He said, and reached for the cloth bundle.

He unravelled it, and pulled out a small nugget. It was golden, though not shining bright like the Romans often had their equipment. It had a darker tint to it, and had a green and red aura surrounding it.

It presented a dark energy to me, but I couldn't tell if the other's were feeling it. I started seeing things I didn't want to see, and I had no idea what was happening. I backed up a bit, to which only Artemis noticed, and she frowned at me in concern.

Hephaestus wrapped the nugget back up in a bundle and put it in a locked box, one that looked really hard to break into. I looked around at everyone. Artemis still had concern written on her face and kept glancing at me, Athena looked indifferent, and Ares had a look of lust in his eyes.

The smith god wiped his hand on a dirty rag and then turned back to us. "Now that, friends, was a completely new metal I forged, a new element. I don't have a name for it, that can come later. You're not going to like how I got, nor how we're going to get more." He said, catching our attention.

"Well why not?" Ares asked impatiently, and the god glared at him. "Does anyone know where we are right now?" He said, and Athena answered. "Mount Saint Helens." Hephaestus nodded. "And does anyone know what Mount Saint Helens means to Olympus?" He asked, and for once, Athena was wrong. "It is your primary forge."

Hephaestus smirked. "Wrong." This seemed to greatly offend Athena, but before she could say anything, Artemis spoke. "Typhon is buried here." She said, causing Athena to gape and facepalm herself for her stupidity. Ares howled with laughter, causing the wisdom goddess to elbow him in the gut.

Hephaestus looked out towards the fires of the mountain, and sighed. "I lost a lot of good automatrons trying to get this. Until I tried it myself. It's how this happened." He said, holding up his arm. There were many burns running up his entire arm. Not like he'd accidentally touched the fire, more like he'd dipped his whole arm in it.

"The element is a compound of two things. The lava of Mount Saint Helens, which is easy to get, and something more harder to obtain. Typhon's blood." He said, making us all gasp in shock. We had to bleed Typhon himself, and risk waking him and invoking his wrath, just to make some metal.

"Is there no other way?" I asked, and Hephaestus shook his head. "If there were any other way, lad, I wouldn't have done it myself." He said, and I took some time to contemplate this.

Hephaestus walked over to his forge. "Even though it will be difficult, and will require… sacrifice. We could knock out two birds with one stone by doing this. I assume you know how a forge works. Basically, it is powered by the strength of the volcano itself, and the stronger the volcano, the stronger the weapon." He explained, and I think I knew where this was going.

"When collecting the blood, if we did so painfully, but not too damaging, we could slightly stir him from his slumber. Not enough to wake him, of course, Zeus would have my head for that. If we just make it hurt a bit, it might disturb him, which would increase Mount Saint Helens power, and through that, the power of the weapons." He explained.

We all remained silent, until I spoke. "Who will do it?" I asked, and of course, no response. No one wanted to do such a thing. It was a suicide mission. Hephaestus himself was seriously injured just from getting a nugget. We needed enough to make four weapons.

Seeing no one would volunteer, I sighed, and stepped forward. "Fine. I'll do it."

**Wow, third chapter done already. Again, I'll need some names for Percy's three sons. Won't need them anytime soon but better now than never. I'm too uncreative to come up with any. Also, what should Percy's army be. Should I make up an entire species, or just use the same old monsters like Cyclops and Hellhounds.**

**Word Count: 3196**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Can You Feel The Love Tonight

**Chapter 4 is here. I have decided on Percy's kids names, with some help from you guys. In order of birth, they are Larissa, Calix, Achilles and Urion (pronounced yer-ee-in, not Orion but with a U.) They don't come in for awhile though. Anyway, without further ado, the next chapter, and the beginning of Perseus and Artemis' relationship.**

Chapter 4: Can You Feel The Love Tonight

**Percy's P.O.V.**

The others looked at me in shock. "You would sacrifice your health, your form just to get some blood?" Athena gasped. "Surely there must be another way! God or not, his body won't survive that. Even if he did, he'd be burnt to a crisp, and unable to wield his weapon." Artemis complained.

Ares shrugged indifferently. "Fine by me. At least I'm not the one doing it." We all glared at him.

Anyways, Artemis had a point. If I survived jumping into a literal lava lake, my physical form would most likely be completely destroyed, which means that I won't be able to fight Erebus. I don't think Styx would let me take the Achilles curse again, or even if she'd give it to a god. It is kinda meant for demigods and heroes after all.

There was no way I would be coming out of this unscathed, but if it meant we could stop Erebus from wreaking more havoc, it was worth it.

Hephaestus shook his head. "Well, you needn't worry about it now, lad. We can start tomorrow, I have a couple projects I need to finish first, anyway. Just in case the forge gets destroyed from the volcano's shift in power. I'll have Hermes come an' get you tomorrow." He told us, and turned back to the blueprints he and Athena were discussing earlier.

We all left, Artemis and I flashing back to the Hunters Camp at Yellowstone. When we got there, the Hunt all greeted us, but didn't ask where we went or what we were doing as Hermes made it clear that it was an Olympian matter. If Artemis didn't tell them, they didn't need to know.

The Hunt had just made lunch, and were sitting around the fire pit once more, eating. By the looks of the carcass skewered over the fire, it was leftovers from the bear that didn't get eaten last night.

Artemis and I grabbed some off of the carcass, and sat down to eat. While I ate, Artemis looked down at my leg. "That seems to have healed up already." She noted, and I looked down, having completely forgotten that I was injured. It was fine to walk on now, but I wouldn't try injuring it again.

Which is exactly what Artemis did. She booted me in the ankle.

I understand that she probably thought it was completely fine now, and she was just doing it to mess around, but I couldn't stop myself from keeling over in pain. I groaned and clutched my leg, feeling as if I had just fractured my ankle.

Artemis put her hand on my shoulder and apologized profusely. Some of the hunters looked at me with sympathy, but most laughed. I tried my best to smile. "It's alright. It just hurts to hit it more than any part of my body right now, except maybe something you people have a knack for cutting off." I joked, and for the first time, I heard Artemis giggle.

She quickly slapped her hand over her mouth, and all the Hunters went silent. I looked at her with a grin. "Did you, Artemis, the Man-Hating Goddess of the Hunt, just laugh at a dick joke?" I asked, and she glared.

"Do not mention this to anyone, or I'll show you a dick joke." She threatened, and I paled. "Jeez, Arty. I was just trying to lighten the mood." I said, which then made all of the Hunt, including Artemis, stare at me in confusion.

"What did you call me?" Artemis asked me, though she had no anger in her voice, just curiosity. I paled. Did I just give Artemis a nickname? I don't know how these girls haven't castrated me already. I'm crossing all kinds of boundaries.

I stammered. "I-uh, d-don't worry about it. It's nothing." I said, and looked away. The hunters thought nothing more of it, but kept giving me weird looks.

After half an hour of sitting there and doing nothing but talking, I sighed out of boredom. "We should do something." I said, and once again, they all looked at me weirdly. "Uh, like what?" Some Hunter asked, and I shrugged.

"Wanna go see a movie? I can pay." I offered, and the Hunters all shrugged. Artemis answered for them. "Sure. What'll we go see?" She asked, and before I could answer with 'I don't know.' One of the younger hunters shouted. "LION KING, LION KING!" Much to the approval of the other young hunters.

I wasn't against it, since we were probably gonna be seeing a kids movie anyway due to the young hunters. At least it wasn't a princess movie, though I suppose the Hunt isn't into that kinda stuff.

I looked at Artemis for confirmation, and she nodded, standing up. "Well, let's go. Leave the tents and gear. The dogs will protect it." She said, and we all got up and got ready to leave.

We stood in a circle and held hands so Artemis could flash us away. We ended up in front of those old small town theaters you see in movies and stuff. I looked at her with questioning in my eyes. She shrugged. "Smaller the theater, the less people that'll be here."

That logic didn't sound right to me. "The smaller the theater, the more packed it'll be." I reasoned, but she shook her head. "Just trust me. You'll see when we get in there." She said, and I sighed. I was probably right anyway.

We ordered our tickets and food, the hunters all getting a large popcorn to share between two so as to not waste food. Once we made sure all the hunters had gone to the toilet, we entered the theater, and I was severely disappointed to find that Artemis was correct.

There was no one in there, which was weird since this movie came out like three days ago. I didn't think my of it, and we found our seats, the lot of us taking up a whole row.

Phoebe sat on one end with some of the older hunters while Artemis, Thalia and I sat at the other end, me in between the two. Since we were on the end, Artemis and I had to share our popcorn. I was fine with that. It was better than sharing it with someone like Phoebe.

The Hunters made a lot of ruckus as we waited for the movie to start, and when it finally did, we realised it was just the previews. Some of the hunters actually groaned in disappointment, which I laughed at. I noticed Artemis had already begun digging into the popcorn before the movie had even started, though I just sipped on my drink.

She looked over and saw me leaning towards Thalia, sipping my drink, and she laughed. She offered me the bucket. "It's okay, Percy. I'm not gonna bite. You're allowed popcorn, too." I nodded, still with my drink, though I sat back up.

The movie started and we hushed the hunters.

It was pretty god, not gonna lie. The original was better, and The Little Mermaid will always be the best Disney movie, so I didn't have much to say about it.

Although, I shit you not, as soon as the chorus for Can You Feel The Love Tonight started, Artemis and I both reached for popcorn, accidentally grabbing each other's hands.

I blushed at the situation, and even in the dark, I could see that she did too. We both retracted our hands and nothing else happened at the movie.

We left the theater, which must've looked weird to the three people we saw outside. Two dozen teenage girls, half a dozen little girls, a girl in her late teens and a guy about the same age all walking out of The Lion King with no parent in sight.

The girls were all talking about how great the movie was as we walked down the alley where Artemis would flash us. "Alright girls. We'll head back to camp and-" Before she could even say the whole sentence, a loud chorus of 'Aww's sounded, shocking Artemis.

"You guys wanna do more?" Artemis asked in surprise, and they all nodded excitedly. Artemis. "Well, I guess I could make this our day out. We still have a few hours until my brother's chariot will be setting. What should we do?" She asked, whirling on me, and when she did, all of the hunters did too.

I tried thinking of fun things I could take a couple dozen underage girls to do and thought of one. "Well, I know a beach with a pretty cool boardwalk. It's got rides, games and food stands, plus the actual beach. We could go there if you want." I suggested, and it was unanimously decided that we would.

I was the one who flashed us there, and when we arrived, the Hunt instantaneously in awe at all the stuff there was. I guess with all the hunting and and demigod life, the Hunters didn't get out much.

The Hunters all split up into groups, and I gave each one some money, and off they went. Thalia had gone off with some other girls, so that left Artemis and I by ourselves. Since I was the one with the money, we had the most, so I looked up at Artemis. "What do you wanna do first?" I asked with a grin.

We walked around for a while looking at the many things they had available. I saw that many of the hunters had immediately gone and lined up by the rides, so I thought it better to save it for later.

Artemis must have had similar thoughts to me, because she started walking away and waved me over. "Come on, let's go get something to eat." She said, and I ran to catch up with her. "Just so you know" I began. "We're gonna eat real food. I'm not gonna go catch a seagull with you." I said, double-checking we weren't doing just that.

Artemis laughed, and we walked over to an ice cream stand. "What do you want?" I asked, and the goddess looked at the menu. "I'll just have vanilla." She said, and I rolled my eyes. "Boring, but okay." I said, and she glared at me for the remark.

Once the kids in front of us had gotten theirs, I ordered ours. "Two please, one vanilla and one chocolate." I said, handing the guy the money. Artemis scoffed. "Chocolate? Boring, but okay."

I laughed. "At least mine has flavour." I told her, and before she could argue, the teenager running the stand handed us our ice creams.

There wasn't really any point in going on a ride with ice cream, so we walked around as we finished them off.

I noticed Artemis had a little white patch on the tip of her nose, and laughed. She glared at me for laughing at her. "What's so funny?" She asked, and I brought my finger up. With one swoop, I wiped the vanilla ice cream off her nose and ate it. She looked mildly offended, but also amused. "Tastes boring." I told her, earning another laugh.

We came across one of those carnival games where you have to shoot the buckets, and for each one you get, the better your prize. I directed her to it, and gave her my ice cream to hold onto. "What are you doing, Perce?" She asked, and I grinned. "I'm gonna win you that thing." I said, pointing to a large stuffed bear that had a sign on it saying 'FIVE BUCKETS'

She rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything, choosing to finish off her ice cream. I gave the guy some money, and picked up the air rifle. Using what little skill I had, I lined it up with the first can and fired. Bullseye. Now I had my groove settled, I repeated the process again for another four times. Reload, Aim, Fire, Hit.

I looked back at Artemis and smirked, and she rolled her eyes. The man asked me what prize I wanted and of course, I chose the huge one. It was a black wolf with large blue eyes, and the man had trouble squeezing it over the counter.

I gave it to Artemis with a cocky expression on my face, and she scoffed, walking up to the stand. Giving the man some money without saying anything, picked up the gun and reloaded it.

Barely aiming, she raised the gun and fired 5 times in a matter of seconds. Holy crap, she can reload fast. I didn't even know she'd used a gun before. Before the man even asked what she wanted, she pointed to another 5 can prize. Ironically, it was a Bambi plush toy. It wasn't as big as the wolf I gave her, but I still took her.

I looked at her in awe. "How did you even do that? I thought you specialized in archery?" I asked, and she shrugged. "They're not much different. It's just shooting." She said. The logic behind that didn't quite add up, but I didn't question it.

"And besides." She said. "I thought you were infamously terrible at shooting." She said, and I shrugged. "Well then bows and rifles must be different then, shouldn't they?" I contradicted Artemis, and she just huffed. "No, but for real. A couple of years ago my stepfather took me and my mom up to his cabin at Montauk, not too far from where I used to go as a kid. He had a couple rifles there, and he taught me how to shoot. I was alright at it." I remembered, and she nodded.

By now the sun had gone down, and the only people here were some families and the hunt, plus the occasional group of teenagers or couple. That also meant that the lines had gone down, and most of the hunters were buying food or playing the carnival games. That means they'd probably all gone on the rides.

I nudged Artemis, with my bambi plush tucked under my arm. "Wanna go on the ferris wheel?" I asked. She checked for a line, and when she confirmed that it was practically nonexistent, since it was a Tuesday night in some town, she nodded and we headed over towards it.

Some skinny teenager who looked like he hated his life was running the ride, and he looked at us with a raised eyebrow. "You guys enjoying your date?" He asked, shocking us both enough to gawk at him with our mouths hanging open.

"W-what makes you think that we're dating?" Artemis asked, slightly offended. The teen chuckled and gestured to us. "A guy and a girl, who look nothing alike so you probably aren't siblings, coming to the boardwalk at night together. You're holding two stuffed toys you probably won from Mr Brears' shooting range, and you've both got a bit of ice cream still on your faces. If this isn't a cliche teen date, I don't know what is." He laughed, and we blushed.

I walked up to him in embarrassment and gave him some money. "We'll just go and ride this thing." I told the guy, and he nodded, gesturing to the empty seats. "I'll hold your toys." He said, and we left them in the booth with him.

We sat in silence, looking at the slowly shrinking earth as it got further and further away. We reached the top of the ferris wheel, and I looked at Artemis. "I can't believe he thought we were on a date." I said, trying to lighten up the situation a little. I didn't get much of a response other than a half-hearted 'yeah'.

Again, we sat in silence, then Artemis suddenly gasped, which startled me. I questioned her as to what made her do that, and she looked at me in slight horror. "Tomorrow's when we forge the weapons, when you get typhon's blood. Today could be the last day that you're recognisable as a human being.

I blinked once. Twice. "Wow." I said slowly. "I'd forgotten about that. Thanks for reminding me." I told her, which made her blush and start apologising. I placed my hand on her shoulder, smiling at how nice she was to me. I doubt she'd apologize to any other male.

She stared at me, and then at the hand on her shoulder. The stars glittered beautifully above the ferris wheel. It was all moving so fast, and as we both looked back at each other, she said one thing. "Let's make the most of it."

Then she pulled my lips to hers.

I breath hitched, and my life flashed before my eyes. This was all moving so fast, it was hard to believe that we had gone from acquaintances to… this in only a day. Yet it wasn't moving fast enough. I felt as if I wasn't just going to possibly lose my life tomorrow, but so was she, and everyone I knew. The world was going to end tomorrow, and I would make the most of it.

We disconnected from each other, breathing heavily, but with large grins on our faces. "Wow, so that's what it feels like." She said, pressing her fingers to her lips, trying to savour the taste.

I smiled, a gesture which she returned. "Do you wanna do that again?" I asked, and she didn't say anything in response. She just grinned and pulled me in for another kiss.

**So there you have it, the beginning of their relationship. I know its a bit rushed but this way I can actually progress the story and have Pertemis stuff in it too. Otherwise it'll be three chapters of them denying their feelings for each other. Anyways, I'm gonna go now.**

**Word Count: 3060**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Calling

**I'm back, and I'm honestly surprised I've lasted this long on a story without quitting. Thanks for supporting my decision to have Pertemis become a reality in one chapter, I really didn't feel like drawing it out for 25 chapters. Sorry for the couple days' absence. Again, personal stuff got in the way, plus schoolwork.**

Chapter 5: A Calling

Dream

**Percy's P.O.V.**

I woke to the light pouring in through the tent and into my eyes. There was a weight on my chest and I looked down, being greeted by a head of auburn hair. I struggled to remember what had happened the night before, and hoped we hadn't gone too far. She felt fully clothed, so I safely assumed that we didn't.

She seemed to still be resting, so I didn't disturb her by getting up of moving, just content with letting her rest on my chest. I tried remembering what happened last night, and piece by piece, it came back to me.

After a make out session on top of the ferris wheel, we departed (after it reached the bottom, of course) and walked around a bit more. It was now night, and we decided to go down to the beach and hang out.

We didn't get in the water, we just sat on the sand and watched Artemis' chariot go by slowly. The two of us had a few more makeout session, but nothing serious. We sat with her head leaning on my shoulder, my arm resting on the opposite side of her.

"Hey Percy." Artemis said, making me look over at her. She looked slightly worried. "What are we? What do you think we are?" She asked, and I somehow knew what she meant immediately. I took a moment to think up a response, and replied with. "Well, by the way you look at me, and by the way I feel about you, we're in love." I told her.

I know, it was pretty corny, but I truly meant it. I felt like I was in love with her, and I hope she felt the same way. A small part of my brain was telling me I was wrong. She was a maiden goddess after all, after thousands of years of training herself to hate boys, maybe all potential love for any was erased.

I thanked the gods when she smiled, and leaned her head on my shoulder once more and stared back at the moon, the tides trying their best to reach out to it. I found it ironic that the God of Tides and the Goddess of the Moon were this close together. It's as if we were meant to be, as cliche as that sounds.

Artemis sighed next to me. "How are we going to deal with this Percy? I'm a maiden daughter of Zeus, and you're Poseidon's favourite son. They would never let us be together. Styx would never let me give up my virginity to you." She said, getting more erratic with each sentence.

I silenced her with a kiss on the lips, effectively shutting her up. She broke the kiss, and I was grinning at her. "Artemis, you're going too fast here. We're immortal, we've got all the time in the world to worry about doing the deed. Heck, we don't even know if I'll be still be alive after tomorrow. That can come later. For now, let's just enjoy what we have." I told her, and she nodded, letting me embrace her once more.

We sat there for another half an hour, watching the beautiful scenery in front of us. Unfortunately, our time together was cut short by the two of us being splashed by a huge torrent of water. I was unaffected as I put up my dry barriers and soon as I felt the hand start moving the water. Artemis, however, yelped, and snapped her head towards the threat.

The hunters were all standing there, watching us with suspicion in their eyes, though they didn't say anything. Thalia stood there, her arms crossed and looking at us expectantly. "The young girls are getting tired, they want to go." She said, and we nodded, not saying anything.

As we had done many times that day, we all stood in a circle and held hands while Artemis flashed us, this time the destination being the hunters camp. The older hunters still hadn't said a word, though we all silently agreed to put the little ones to bed before we had a talk.

Artemis and I took two little girls to a tent, which they shared with one of the older hunters as one of the rules. Each tent that contains a young hunter must also occupy an older one so they can supervise them.

I led a young blonde girl, most likely a daughter of Apollo, to her bed and tucked her in, whispering goodnight to her before I got up and left. Artemis had tucked in what looked to be another daughter of Apollo, although she kissed the girl on the forehead.

We both exited the tent in silence and met up with the other hunters, who had gathered around the campfire and currently looking at us. "Now that the little ones are in bed, care to explain?" Phoebe said, glaring at me.

Artemis shuffled nervously on her feet, but quickly regained her steely composure and grabbed my hand, making it clear for all the hunt to see. "Hunters, I'm sorry. I have broken my oath and fallen in love with a man." She said, and I noted her use of the word man.

The hunters were obviously not surprised, and one simply said. "We can see that. We're just confused. Why him? What does this mean for us? Would you really turn your back on your oath, on us, for him?" She said, and Artemis struggled to answer the question.

"I… uh… m-my…" She stuttered, sweat coming off of her forehead. I squeezed her hand, and she calmed down almost immediately.

She stood up pridefully, but with a hint of grief in her eyes. "I understand if you wish to leave the hunt, and I will not bar you from doing so. If you so wish, I could get Styx to alternate your oaths so that instead of never falling in love, it becomes only being with a man who I truly love, or something. But yes, I will respect your wishes if you choose to leave."

She sighed, sucking up the tears that threatened to spill. "I have fallen in love with Percy, and I know that he loves me back. He is brave, skilled, humble, strong, courteous, and funny, all the things I respect in a man. He is the god of loyalty, so I trust that he would never cheat on me or break my heart. He risked his neck multiple times to save Olympus _twice_, and he turned down godhood _twice_, all for the girl he loved." She said, and I felt pride in what she said.

"Perseus Jackson is the man I love. I'm sure of it. If you wish to leave because of that, I will respect your decision." She said, silently praying that none of the hunters actually would leave.

The hunters remained silent for a bit, until Phoebe said. "We will not abandon you, milady. We've stuck with you for this long, and we're not going to leave because of some male. But, we want proof that he won't break your heart like all other males would." She said, and I raised an eyebrow.

"How so?" I asked, and she steeled her gaze on me. "Swear it on the Styx." She demanded, and I nodded in compliance.

"I, Perseus Jackson, swear on the River Styx to never stray from Artemis, never to love another woman than Artemis, and never to break her heart in any way, shape, or form." I pledged, and when nothing happened, the hunters accepted it.

Thalia leaped up and pulled us into a hug, congratulating us. "I feel like I just got married. I said a pledge about love and never to cheat or anything, and now I'm getting hugged and congratulated by my extended family." I joked, which got me a laugh from both of them, plus some other hunters.

When Thalia let go, Artemis clapped her hands. "Alright, we had a busy day today. Lights out, girls. Come on." She said, and the girls groaned, but accepted their fates, putting out the fire and heading to bed.

Since I didn't really have a tent and couldn't be bothered flashing to my half-built palace on Olympus, I walked over into the medical tent and found my bed. It was exactly as I had left it, blood stained and messy. Before I could lay down, I noticed a shadow at the door.

"What are you doing?" I recognized the voice as Artemis, and she had her hands on her hips. "Uh… going to bed." I answered truthfully, to which she just shook her head and waved me over. "Come on."

I followed her through the camp until we reached a large silver tent, illuminated by the moonlight. She unzipped it and let me in, zipping it back up once we were inside.

It was much bigger on the inside, with a full queen bed comfortably placed in there along with some drawers and a mirror. Artemis seemed to be a messy goddess, as clothes were strewn all over the floor and the blankets were a mess.

She hopped into the bed and looked at me expectantly. I blushed as I realised what she wanted. She wanted me to sleep here with her for the night. She patted the spot next to her and I reluctantly sat down, careful not to make any sudden movements. Once I had laid down fully, the Moon Goddess did too, cuddling into my side, which made me less tense.

"Percy?" She said in the pitch blackness of the tent. "Yeah?" I answered, letting her know I was there. There was a moment of silence before I heard her softly say "I love you." And then fall asleep not long after.

I love you too, Artemis.

And now here we are, with me laying her in bed and her head on my chest looking up at me. Wait, looking up at me? She was awake now?

Indeed she was, her silvery orbs staring at me with curiosity and humor. "You've been still and quiet for the past twenty minutes. I thought you were dead for a bit." She said, laughing, and I blushed, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Why didn't you say anything?" I asked, to which she shrugged. "I didn't want to disturb you. It looked as if you were deep in thought." She pointed out, which I didn't argue with. I guess I was kinda deep in thought.

"Did Hephaestus say what time we'd be going through with the plan?" I asked, trying to remember what had been discussed yesterday. She shrugged, and I huffed, sitting up, which made her groan.

"Come on. We should get up." Artemis frowned at my words, but did so without complaint. Since we had slept in our clothes, we didn't get dressed, and just left the tent to go find the hunters. As expected, they were mostly around the fire pit, which seemed to be the main part of the camp.

They were eating something different today, some rabbits that they must have hunted this morning. Artemis immediately went and gathered her meal, but I decided that I wasn't hungry, and sat down beside Thalia.

She looked up at me, swallowing the food she had previously been gorging herself on. My dear cousin smirked and elbowed me. "So, you and Artemis, huh?" She teased, making me blush once again. "You guys are cool with that?" I asked nervously and she rolled her eyes. "I thought we made that clear last night. Though please hold off on the boinking for a while." She said, grimacing at the thought.

Artemis' breathed hitched at what Thalia said, and she suddenly lost her appetite. "What time is it, Percy?" She asked, and without even looking at a watch or clock, or even the sun, I blurted out. "10:38AM" I don't know how I knew, I just naturally felt like that was the exact time.

Artemis raised an eyebrow, but nodded, assuming I was right. She stood up and looked down at me. "We should get going then. We don't know what time Hephaestus wanted to kick things off." I nodded, and the two of us got up and left, waving goodbye to the hunter just before we flashed to the Smith God's forge at Mount Saint Helens.

It turns out we didn't need to hurry, since we were the first there aside from Hephaestus himself. He seemed surprised to see us. "You two are early. I haven't sent Hermes yet." He said, and we face palmed internally, realising we didn't need to hurry.

I didn't feel like leaving anyway, and neither did Artemis, so we just went over and looked at what he was working on. I couldn't read the words on the side very well, thanks to my dyslexia kicking in, but I could definitely make out the picture.

It was a creature I was all too familiar with, although he'd looked different from the last time I'd seen him. The creature was humanoid from the waist up, but his legs were the bottom halves of boa constrictors. He had large claws for hands, and two large leathery wings protruding from his back. His hair was so matted and out of place that it made him look homeless, and his face had a horrifying expression that even I can't describe.

The diagram I was looking at was Typhon himself, or at least what the gods viewed him as. When I last saw him, he was a large mass of black clouds rampaging through New York. There was another slight altercation to him though.

There was a large metal structure on his back, big enough to walk on, since he was like 2000 feet tall or something like that. It showed a separate diagram of a metal mask with eye and mouth holes, with two long chains coming out of the sides that led up to the metal structure on the monster's back.

If I was looking at this correctly, which I'm pretty sure I was, they wanted to use Typhon. Again, I couldn't really read it properly, but I could work it out good enough from the pictures. They wanted to enslave Typhon, and use him as a war beast of some kind. It was as if they'd ride a 2000 feet tall monster into battle, which I admit, would be a pretty badass pet, but still, it was Typhon. He couldn't be tamed.

No, Typhon could not be tamed. He almost destroyed America the last time someone tried to tame him, and he wasn't really defeated, they just put him back in his hole.

Who thought this up? Athena or Hephaestus? Or maybe even Zeus ordered him to design this. Perhaps Zeus was becoming even more power hungry than I thought. If he would risk the safety of his kingdom- of the world even- then perhaps Zeus was slowly becoming more and more unfit as a king.

I wouldn't speak my thoughts aloud though, as Zeus would most likely obliterate me with help from others who wanted to take a hit at me. But still, I would not let this insane idea go through.

I snatched up the blueprints, making Artemis jump a little, and I marched over to Hephaestus slightly angry. "What is this." I asked, oddly calm for what I was really feeling inside. Hephaestus looked down at the blueprints and his eyes widened. He tried snatching it out of my hands, but I managed to keep hold of them.

"Give them back, boy. Zeus will not be happy with you stealing his property." He threatened, and I managed to hold my ground. I crossed my arms. "I will not let Zeus go through with an idea like this. This is madness! Typhon will not obey you, by force or of his own free will. It'll just get everyone killed, and after the wars, and with the new one coming, we can't afford that." I told him sternly, and he glared.

"Zeus will have you executed. Just give it back, for your own good." He said leaning down and looking at me threateningly. Still, I held my ground, leaning forward and looking at him in the eye.

"He can do no such thing. Not without the agreement of at least 8 Olympians. And I know for a fact that once I show this to the council, there won't be even four people that will agree with Zeus. He cannot do anything serious to me without consulting the rest of the council. This is a _democracy _after all, not a dictatorship." I countered, and Hephaestus remained silent, trying to think of a comeback.

Artemis cleared her throat next to us. "I agree with Percy. You cannot tame Typhon, he is too much of a monster to submit to anyone, even Tartarus or Gaea." She said, breaking the stalemate. The smith god relented, and sighed. "Fine, whatever. Let's just get this over with. I'll summon Ares and Athena." He said, and I nodded, giving the blueprints to Artemis to look after.

Hephaestus called Hermes, and the Messenger God appeared for only about three seconds, as he instantly know what the god wanted, also taking note of us already being here. A few minutes later, and there were two flashes, one grey and the other red, and the other two gods arrived.

Hephaestus gave me no pep talk or anything, just told me what to do. "Alright, lad. Your job is simple. All you have to do is jump in, take out your sword, and started hitting that beast until he bleeds. Don't make the wounds deep enough to wake him, but we need quite a bit of his blood. One slice got me that sample over there, and we need enough to make four weapons, so you may be down there for a while." He said, gesturing at the golf ball-sized nugget he'd shown us yesterday.

"Oh, and try to ignore the pain, lad. If you even come back up for a breather, we won't be able to make you go back in. Good luck." He encouraged, and I nodded, walking over to stand by the edge.

The forge was in full effect. Automatons were waiting with hammers for something to hit, boilers were going at the max, and Hephaestus had a welding mask on, handing one to each of the other's.

I threw my shirt off, mainly because I didn't want it to get burnt to a crisp. Of course, I didn't want that to happen to my pants, but sometimes you have to sacrifice one of your two pairs of pants for your dignity. Uncapping Riptide, I looked back at the other's for confirmation, and Hephaestus held a thumb up to signal that they were ready.

I looked back down at the smoldering fires of Mount Saint Helens, and sucked in a deep breath, before diving in.

I had been in pain many times before in my life, but this pain was definitely the second-worst that I'd ever felt. Nothing could top the Styx. Whereas the Styx felt like a billion knives stabbing into your from all angles, this felt like I was being stripped of all my skin and reduced to nothing but a skeleton, before repeating.

I fought back the tears of pain, and weakly swam down. After about twenty seconds, I came across a large dark mass. I didn't know which part of him I was at, but I assumed that this was Typhon. Without even taking time to think, I held my sword tightly and swung.

The magma around me slowed my movements down, but luckily this heat must have made Typhon pretty weak or something, because even at my slow movements, he started bleeding rapidly. As soon as it touched the magma, it solidified, and I was greeted by a hard punch to the face by a chunk of metal.

I grunted, and covered my now bleeding nose. Unfortunately, my ichor did not solidify, so we couldn't just use that.

I felt my strength fading away, so I struck him some more. I opened up plenty of new wounds, letting the old ones bleed at bit more.

Now not only could I feel like very lifeforce fading from the pain, but I couldn't hold my breath under magma like I could water. My face started turning blue, or what was left of it at least, and I started floating upwards.

I gave the beast a few more strikes, hearing a deep rumble, and my consciousness started to fade. I screamed as I slashed him again, but this time the blood hadn't solidified. Instead it went straight into my eyes, which burned, by the way. Almost immediately after, I fell unconscious.

**Artemis P.O.V.**

We sat there in waiting for Perseus to emerge once again. Not long after he'd gone in, chunks of glowing gold metal started to break through to the surface, and Hephaestus immediately sprung into action.

He grabbed a large broom-like metal object and ran to the side. He used the object like a pool boy, bringing them closer to the side, before he'd grab a large pair of tongs and scooping them up one by one.

He placed them down onto a table surrounded by automatons, and the machines immediately sprung into life. The table was circular, and so was their formation. One by one they all would hit the metal chunk with a hammer, smoothing out the hot metal and making it more workable much quicker than Hephaestus alone would do it.

Afterwards the metal would be melted down and poured into a very, very hot bucket and left for Hephaestus to use once all the metal had been collected. This process repeated again and again, until suddenly the metal chunks stopped surfacing.

My heart sank, fearing something had happened to Percy down there. There was a large and deep rumbled, causing a mini earthquake, and for some tiny chunks of the rock ceiling to fall.

We remained silent, Hephaestus squinting into the hot magma to see if he could spot anything below the surface. Unfortunately, it was too thick, which resulted Hephaestus getting a jumpscare from a humanoid object surfacing in front of him.

The thing was charred, with very little on top of the skeleton other than some blood red muscle. It had scraps of hair which somehow survived the heat, and it was skinnier than Aphrodite.

Hephaestus used the tongs to grab on it's arm and pull it out of the water, and as he lay it down on the ground, my worst fears were realised. It was Percy. He looked much more scarred and burnt than Hephaestus' arm, which scared me. I had no idea if he was even still alive, and I started sobbing.

The man who I had only been in love with for a day, who I had for so little time, now lay most likely dead in front of me.

Then he started glowing.

**Percy's P.O.V.**

_I know who you are_

My eyes shot open as I heard the raspy voice whisper in my ear. I was immediately blinded by the fact that there was absolutely no colour. I was surrounded by nothing but darkness, enough that I couldn't even see my hands and body.

"Hello? Can you turn on the lights?" I asked, hoping that I hadn't just gone blind. There was no reply, but instead the same voice whispered loudly.

_I know what you truly want, Perseus_

I tilted my head in confusion, though I doubt the voice could see it. "What do you mean? Where am I?" I asked, confused as heck. I jumped when I felt something touch my elbow, and I heard footsteps thudding all around me.

_I can help you, Perseus. I know you can do it. Do not worry, just follow your gut. It will lead you to greatness_

I heard the footsteps fading away, and I looked in that direction. "What do you mean? Who are you?" I yelled, but I only received a cryptic answer in return.

_I will help you_

**Artemis' P.O.V.**

My eyes widened as the body of my loved one started glowing green. He remained unconscious, so I don't think he was doing this on purpose. Hephaestus reached a hand down and touched him, checking his temperature, but then he started to panic.

"I can't let go! My arm's stuck!" He said frantically, and Athena ran over to investigate. Ares backed up in shock, while I remained still and staring at Percy with my mouth hung open.

Athena went to grab his arm and pry it off, but snapped her arm back in shock. Percy had started to glow brighter, and his form started to… shift. I somehow became even more shocked as he slowly went from a charred corpse to a normal human being.

His face lost it's red and black marked fleshy texture, and he slowly reverted back to skin. The same could be said for the rest of his body, and Hephaestus' arm.

The green glow travelled up his arm, ending at his shoulder, and slowly all the god's scars disappeared. The burn marks he had received from the heat were just gone without a trace. It should've been impossible.

Then there were Percy's eyes. They were wide open, but showed no signs of consciousness. Instead of his old sea-green eyes, they were different.

They were gold.

**Okay, done. Sorry for the rushed ending. I wanted to get this out as soon as possible. I have nothing else to say, so goodbye.**

**Word count: 4367**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Forging of The Weapons

**Hopefully I'll have pumped this one out by the end of this weekend. Again, thanks for sticking around this long. I don't think I'm gonna give up on this story, I seem to like this one. Also, sorry if I get the forging process wrong. I'm not a blacksmith, so there'll most probably be stuff missing, but sorry if I get something wrong**

Chapter 6: The Forging of The Weapons

**Percy's P.O.V.**

My vision returned to me gradually as the bright light that blinded me faded away. There was a large shadow looming over me, which as my sight returned, appeared to be Hephaestus. Ares and Athena were behind him, the former looking at me with a shocked expression on his face, while Ares seemed to care not for me.

My eyes wandered, and I saw Artemis standing not too far behind them with a shocked expression on her face and dried tear stains on her cheeks. I frowned, wondering what had made her so upset. That was when I remembered what had just happened.

I panicked and shot up, checking over my body and expecting to see nothing but charred flesh and bone. I was immensely shocked to find that my arms still had the untouched skin attached to them, and as I looked all over, I realised that the same was true for the rest of my body.

This did nothing to calm me, and if anything, the confusion made me panic even more. I looked up in terror at the four gods in front of me, on the verge of a mental breakdown. "What the fuck? How am I still alive? I saw my arms in there, they were nothing but flesh and bone! Why am I alright? What is happening to me?" I wailed, hyperventilating.

Hephaestus slammed his mouth over my hand as Artemis rushed towards me. She tackled me in a hug and buried her face in my chest. "Don't do that again! Don't scare me like that! I thought I'd lost you, Percy. After only a day of having you, I thought you were gone! You weren't breathing and- and I d-didn't" She sobbed into my chest.

I quickly realised that she needed comfort more than I could and quickly composed myself, wrapping my arms around her back and shushing her. "It's alright, Artemis. I'm alright, you're alright. Everything's alright. You don't have to worry about me doing that again, I'm never going near fire again." I told her, trying to calm her down.

I kissed her on the forehead, and then immediately realised my mistake. _Oh shit. I shouldn't have done that, I should not have done that. _I thought to myself as looked up to the three witnesses.

I'm sure it must have already looked a bit strange, the Virgin Goddess being comforted by a male she had only known for a short while. The deed I had just done must have been the icing on the cake, and as I saw their faces, I knew that was exactly the case.

Athena had a hand over her mouth in shock, and she looked offended. Hephaestus' eyebrows were raised, but to be honest, he didn't seem that surprised. Ares had a look of slight jealousy which slightly disturbed me.

Artemis's sobs quieted down fast, and less than a minute later she shot out of my embrace and looked at me with a pissed expression on her face. At first, I thought it was because of the romantic gesture, until she punched me in the shoulder, _hard_, and scolded me. "I mean it! Don't you ever fucking do that again, okay?" Her mood change scared me, and I nodded frantically.

She nodded, accepting my promise, and stood up. Artemis noticed the stares of the other gods and glared at them, though I noticed there was a slight glint of insecurity in her eyes. "What?" She snapped at the gods, which made none of them shy away.

Athena glared at her. "How could you?" She accused, with made Artemis flinch a bit, but she held her ground. "What do you mean?" Athena kept her angry gaze on the moon goddess. "I know what this is. You two have been around each other a lot recently, and you didn't react when he embraced you, or kissed you on the forehead. You two have been seeing each other, haven't you?" She said, which made Artemis flush.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." She tried to keep the act up, but it was already too far gone. "Don't toy with me, sister. How could you break your oath for a _man_!" She accused, which elicited an enraged reaction out of Artemis.

She gave the goddess of wisdom a death glare that I pray will never fall onto me. "Don't you dare accuse me of such a thing! What do you take me for, sister? Some slut of Aphrodite? We've only been together for a day!" She screamed at her sister, making the goddess shrink back.

Athena quickly regained her composure. "So you admit it?" Artemis blushed, and I reached out my hand towards hers in comfort. She looked at me smiling, and linked our hands together, before turning back to our fellow Olympians. "Yes, Perseus and I are dating."

Athena nodded, while Hephaestus and Ares retained the same expressions as before. Artemis fidgeted with my hands nervously. "Please don't tell anyone." She begged. Athena nodded without hesitation, while Hephaestus thought it over for a moment before following suit. Ares refused to nod, requiring a heavy glare from me before doing so.

After an awkward silence, Hephaestus clapped his hands together and walked away. "Alright, let's make us some weapons." He declared, and we followed him. The god led us over to the forging area, next to the large tub of superheated liquid. The compound of Typhon's blood and the magma of Mount Saint Helens.

"Typhon should still be disturbed by what happened. If we act fast, we can forge these weapons all today. Now, here's what's going to happen. You're going to tell me what weapon you work best with, and I'll make it out of the compound. Then, once it's solidified, I'll have each of you place your hand on your weapon to give it your power. You'll have to use an ancient spell, so remember it." Hephaestus instructed, and then cleared his throat.

"Μεγάλο χάος, επιτρέψτε μου να ευλογήσω αυτό το όπλο με μεγάλη δύναμη. τη δύναμη να καταστρέψει τους στρατούς, ας το βάλουμε σε αυτό το όπλο. Κάντε το δικό μου να σκοτώσει το κακό, να κάνει τη δική σας τάξη, να γίνει ένα όπλο άξιο ενός θεού" He chanted in Ancient Greek, which I could understand. I memorised most of it, and trusted myself to do so with the rest when whoever went first did it.

"Any volunteers?" Hephaestus asked, and since no one volunteered, Hephaestus chose Athena. Great, at least she'll actually get it right. She thought for a second, but her choice was kind of obvious. "I'll have a spear." She told him, and it appears Hephaestus was already onto it.

He sifted through a large pile of stone slabs, and pulled one out. It was carved in to form a shape, which I then realised looked like a spear tip. That means these slabs must be moldings, probably not all spears but most likely weapons.

Hephaestus chucked the slab down and went to the pot of melted metal. With a large grunt, he tipped the pot so that if was carefully pouring onto the slab, and when it had filled the mold, he placed it back upright.

Hephaestus went to work on Athena's new spear, and out of boredom the rest of I began to chat. Athena was watching the forging with interest, so I didn't bother trying to converse with her, instead I turned to Artemis.

"So what weapon are you gonna pick?" I questioned her, to which she made a thinking face and took a moment. Her choice, like Athena's, was kind of obvious. It was a 50/50 chance on it being that or daggers, so of course she picked "Bow."

I scoffed. "Of course." Lady Artemis gave me a glare, which made me shrink a little. I hadn't meant to say it so insultingly, but sometimes my tone doesn't match my thoughts. She tilted her head a bit and smirked. "And what was your choice, again?"

I sighed, knowing where she was going with this, and bowed my head in defeat. "Sword." The auburn haired goddess chuckled. "Of course." She said in the same tone I had, though jokingly.

Suddenly her smile faded, and I noticed that someone was trying to reach her through an iris-message. Probably her hunters had accidentally burnt down a tent while making lunch. "Sorry, I should take this." She explained, and I nodded. Artemis walked over, away from all the noise and accepted the Iris message.

Hephaestus continued his work on Athena's weapon while I just stood there awkwardly. I felt a sharp pain in my left side and I looked over, annoyed at the person who did that. It was Ares, of course. The brute had elbowed me in the ribs, and I glared at him. "What?"

Ares smirked. "You're lucky, punk. If you hadn't gotten her so gooey-eyed over you, I would have taken her for myself." He bellowed, and I growled a bit under my breath, keeping my eyes on Hephaestus and Athena. "What do you mean by that?" I asked, keeping my cool.

"Well they can't stay virgins forever, the three of them. They've gotta break at some point, and you're lucky enough to have broken the hottest one. Guess I'll turn my sights on one of the other's." He told me, and his gaze set upon Athena, particularly her backside, which made me growl even more.

"Don't fucking say that, you prick." I told him, trying to scare him down. The war god laughed. "It's a good thing you broke her. I was that close to just taking her by force. Hades knows that Zeus will have my head for tha-" That pig of a god didn't get to finish his sentence before I punch him in the gut, making him hunch over in pain.

He cringed, and glared at me with one eye open. "Asshole." I rolled my eyes, still pissed at him. "Shut up."

We heard a triumphant yell from Hephaestus, and we looked over, Artemis coming back from her call. The smith god turned around, and held out something to present it to Athena.

It was quite possibly the most beautiful spear I'd ever seen. A golden, glowing spearhead was attached to a long, polished steel pole. He looked up at her, proud of his work, and told her. "Now place your hand on it, and let the magic do it's work."

She was a bit wary, but complied, and wrapped her palm around the steel pole. Once she'd done that, Athena recited the spell. "Μεγάλο χάος, επιτρέψτε μου να ευλογήσω αυτό το όπλο με μεγάλη δύναμη. τη δύναμη να καταστρέψει τους στρατούς, ας το βάλουμε σε αυτό το όπλο. Κάντε το δικό μου να σκοτώσει το κακό, να κάνει τη δική σας τάξη, να γίνει ένα όπλο άξιο ενός θεού"

Immediately the magic that Hephaestus was referring to went to work. Some grey wispy stuff was leached out of Athena and flew into the pole. The glow from the golden spearhead soon became brighter, and my eyes widened.

When the glow died down, Athena was panting, and Hephaestus looked up at her with glee. "Congratulations, you have a new weapon." He told her, and let go of the spear. Athena walked over to inspect her new spear, and Hephaestus turned back to us. "Who's next?"

Ares eagerly stepped forward, and demandingly told the god. "I want a battleaxe. I think it's time I had a change-up." Hephaestus nodded, slightly annoyed at the tone. The god immediately went to work, doing the same process as before, but this time with a different molding.

I looked at Artemis. "What was the call about?" She looked a bit tired, as if that one call had put so much on her plate. "It was Thalia. They spotted Orion, meaning he's escaped Tartarus again. They didn't kill him, because he had a lot of company, but they can confirm it was him. Plus, some of his company were other notable monsters and people that they wouldn't be able to take all at once."

I nodded, understanding why she was worried. I'd heard the stories. "Are they true? The stories about you and Orion?" I asked, and she notably stiffened. "The ancient Greeks played it out like some kind of poetic tragedy. It wasn't a love story like they say, it went a bit differently." She said, and took a deep breath, before continuing the story.

"The hunt and I met Orion on an island called Chios. We didn't know it at the time but he was a wanted criminal, and we took note of his exceptional hunting skills, better than any other males. We let him accompany us, since I thought the interaction with someone else would do them good, but I soon began to regret it." She said, obviously reminiscing on the bad memories.

"He quickly became annoying, constantly wanting to talk to me and me alone. He would show off when I was hunting with him, often slipping up and accidentally letting the animal die a slow, painful death in the process. I would later learn that this was because he was desperately seeking my attention, since he was obsessed with me. Orion was weird."

"One night when the Hunters had all gone to bed, it was just me and him by the campfire, even though he was annoying and had no care for the animals I loved and protected so much. This is where the Greeks got that stupid 'I'm gonna kill everything' plot. He was never like that. Boastful, yes, but overconfident, no. He was a bit shy, not talking to anyone except me. Like I said, he was weird, a creep, even." She told me, and I nodded, having met weirdos like that in New York before.

"Anyways, that night, he made some moves on me. The usual, scooting closer, trying to place his hand over mine. I dodged every attempt, and then he started to talk. It was some speech about how he's loved me ever since he met me, and that he wanted to be with me forever, yadda yadda yadda. I was uncomfortable, and told him I didn't feel the same way, and that I was sorry. He didn't take it very well." I noticed Artemis had tears slightly brimming at her eyes.

"He snapped, and pushed me against a nearby tree, and proceed to force himself on me. That bastard didn't get far, thankfully, as I kneed him in the balls immediately, though he did grope me in some places." Artemis wiped some tears that had begun to fall. "I didn't want to kill my only male friend since Hippolytus, so I told him to leave, and never come back, to which he didn't respond."

"I ran into the forest, and let my anger out on a tree, doing so for about half an hour. When I had calmed down, I returned to camp, expecting Orion to have run off by then. I should have killed him when I had the chance." She thought, becoming uncomfortable. "Long story short, I found Orion raping one of my hunters, Phoebe, and I killed him. That's the real story."

I didn't bring it up again, understanding that she didn't like to talk about it. Before we knew it, Hephaestus was holding out another weapon, this time a battleaxe, towards Ares. He didn't tell the war god to do anything, and Ares still put his hand greedily onto the weapon and yanked it out of Hephaestus' hand.

He hastily repeated the incantation. "Μεγάλο χάος, επιτρέψτε μου να ευλογήσω αυτό το όπλο με μεγάλη δύναμη. τη δύναμη να καταστρέψει τους στρατούς, ας το βάλουμε σε αυτό το όπλο. Κάντε το δικό μου να σκοτώσει το κακό, να κάνει τη δική σας τάξη, να γίνει ένα όπλο άξιο ενός θεού!"

This time the magical essence was blood red, and the golden axe absorbed it all. The light from the weapon's shine mixed with the glow of Ares' power made the war good a bit scary, since his entire face looked to be covered in blood.

He didn't stick around like Athena had, instead just leaving to do Hades knows what. Artemis and I turned to each other and I gestured towards the forge. "Ladies first." She smiled, and looked towards Hephaestus. "I'll have a bow, if you can." She said, and of course, Hephaestus nodded. "Of course, any arrow fired from it will be ten times more powerful than your current. An easy working."

Once again, Hephaestus set to work, grabbing a bow mold and walking over to the mixture. Artemis didn't stay to watch, though. She walked back over to me and continued our conversation.

"So how long will you be staying with the hunt?" She asked, and my eyes widened as the wrong idea went through my head. I thought she was subtly trying to insinuate that the hunt wanted me gone, as I realised that I had just been intruding in their lives for the past couple of days.

I blushed, and timidly told her. "I can be gone after this, if that's what you want." This made her back up a bit, realising her mistake. "No, no, no, I didn't mean it like that. The hunters actually like you, especially the young ones. You're the only male they respect, and that's an accomplishment. You can stay as long as you like, I was just wondering if you were planning on leaving." She reassured me.

I nodded, then turned to her. "And what about you? What do you want?" I asked, not wanting her opinion to be left out. Her head tilted, and she smiled at me. "Honestly… I think that's a stupid question Percy, and so do you."

I laughed, and then pulled her in for a side-hug, to which she leaned in and giggled in a very un-Artemis way. "Love you, Percy." My goddess told me. I smiled, and told my goddess the same thing. "Love you too, Moonbeam."

Her head looked up at me with a playful expression. "Moonbeam?" I smirked at her. "You like it?" I asked, hoping her response would be positive. She pecked me on the cheek and whispered in my ear. "I love it." We stood like that for a while, I couldn't keep track.

Our moment was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. We both looked over to see Hephaestus had finished, and was holding a shining object in some cloth. How long were we just standing there?

Artemis broke out of my embrace and approached the god, staring in awe at the bow. Hephaestus held the bow out to her, and she grasped the handle carefully. The god nodded to her to begin, and she went through the spell. "Μεγάλο χάος, επιτρέψτε μου να ευλογήσω αυτό το όπλο με μεγάλη δύναμη. τη δύναμη να καταστρέψει τους στρατούς, ας το βάλουμε σε αυτό το όπλο. Κάντε το δικό μου να σκοτώσει το κακό, να κάνει τη δική σας τάξη, να γίνει ένα όπλο άξιο ενός θεού"

Now the magic was silver, like her eyes, and they swirled around the bow, wrapping it up in power, eventually fading into the weapon. She picked it up, her gaze not leaving the powerful weapon. This kind of power not put her on par with her father, and I could not even begin to imagine what she was thinking and how she was feeling about all this. I still couldn't believe it.

Artemis remained paralysed in her spot, so I stepped up, ready to finish this all up. Hephaestus looked at me expectantly, and I answered his unanswered question with "I'll have a Sword, please." The god nodded, and set to work, while I went back over to Artemis.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, worried. Artemis remained slightly gaping at the bow in her hands. She shook her head in disbelief. "I was shocked when I saw the others' weapons, but this… I don't know what to think. Father, Poseidon and Hades have always been the most powerful, but now…. I need time to think this all through, and with a weapon like this in Ares' hands, I believe that it wouldn't be put to good use."

I had to admit, she was kinda right. Ares didn't seem very trustworthy with a weapon on the same caliber as Zeus' master bolt. This could disrupt the flow of the whole Olympian council, as Zeus may no longer be the most powerful, and could be overthrown. To be honest, depending on who ruled afterwards, I wouldn't mind. It's been established multiple times that Zeus is a terrible king.

I placed my hand on Artemis' shoulder, squeezing it slightly and making her look up at me. I smiled, and told her "Take your time, we don't need to storm Erebus' fortress today. I'm here for you." She smiled, and kissed me on the cheek again. "Thank you, Percy."

We continued to chat for a while more, until eventually we heard Hephaestus drop his hammer with a clang and he turned around. Hephaestus seemed to have gotten the hang of forging things out of these weapons, and made mine much quicker than the other's.

He approached the two of us with a golden sword, the shine of which rivalled Apollo's. It was beautiful, the most finely crafted sword I had ever seen. The blade was sleek and sharp, with no chips unlike Riptide. The handle felt comfortable and firm in my hand. I took it from his hands and immediately felt a change.

The pain that'd shot through me when the blood made contact with my eyes returned, but I didn't react to it. I felt faint, and I began to wonder why the others hadn't felt this way. Soon I began to slightly sympathize with Ares, and I wanted Hephaestus to let go.

Remembering that the process wasn't yet complete, I recited the chant. "Μεγάλο χάος, επιτρέψτε μου να ευλογήσω αυτό το όπλο με μεγάλη δύναμη. τη δύναμη να καταστρέψει τους στρατούς, ας το βάλουμε σε αυτό το όπλο. Κάντε το δικό μου να σκοτώσει το κακό, να κάνει τη δική σας τάξη, να γίνει ένα όπλο άξιο ενός θεού!"

My magical essence was golden, and it flowed through the swords in nice little patterns, only increasing it's glow. I grinned down at it, and Hephaestus let go, allowing me to fully grasp my new weapon. Artemis' voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"Percy, why are your eyes glowing?"

**Finally done! Sorry, school's been catching up with me, and I've only been spending about half an hour on this each day. I'll try and do better with the next chapter. See y'all later.**

**Word count: 3890**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: My First Promotion

**Okay, if you're reading this, then I've posted this chapter, which is good. Thank you guys for all the support you've given for this story. This is the furthest I've got on a story aside from an old Perianca story I did. Hopefully, this one will keep going. Sorry if it's a bit late, school and mental issues have been getting in the way.**

Chapter 7: My First Promotion

**Percy's P.O.V.**

_A month later_

Life was going smoothly for me. Tensions were still high with Erebus, yet nothing had happened. I was no longer staying with the Hunters, and was currently living at my interim palace on Olympus, basically a place I could stay when had no jobs or other places to stay.

Artemis and I were still together, though no one knew aside from the hunters, Jason, Piper and the three gods who saw us at Mount Saint Helens. We'd been on a few dates since then, most of them ending with one of us staying the night with the other, except the one where Artemis got food poisoning and couldn't stand the sound of talking or even just the presence of others.

Anyway, that's enough about my love life, onto more important matters. Piper was coming along in her pregnancy, and had started showing. They still didn't know what gender it was, but Jason was clearly hoping it was a boy, though he tried to hide it. They were only two months in, but they acted as if the baby was coming tomorrow.

It was still hard to believe I was gonna be a godfather. It felt as if the baby was my own, which it obviously wasn't, but I felt the need to care for it and Piper as much as I would my own child. I kept my distance though, since I didn't want to anger Jason or interrupt them.

More fun news, Nico and Will were engaged! The son of Apollo had proposed to Death-Breath, and of course he accepted. They were only sixteen, though, so they couldn't get married legally yet, but thankfully we're Greek, which means we're a bit flimsy on the age of consent. It _is _a bit disturbing, and should probably be changed after they get married, but it does come in handy here.

So instead of a mortal wedding at like a church or something, we're going to have a Greek wedding at Camp. The Greeks and Romans will all show up, and some friends from other species like Tyson, Grover and Juniper will come to the ceremony. The Gods will also be there to pay their respects to a Hero of Olympus, and Chiron was going to officiate it.

This also got Jason and Piper thinking about marriage, but they told me they'd hold of proposal until after Nico and Will tied the knot, since they didn't want to steal the glory.

Neither Nico nor Will had really released any other information about their wedding, since they were still in the celebration mode. The Apollo cabin was constantly writing them songs and helping throw parties. It's not often that demigods get married, let alone a Hero of Olympus.

Everyone far and wide were congratulating them. Reyna and Hedge had sent them an Iris message with congrats from the Romans. Hades and Apollo had both personally arrived to congratulate their sons, Nico being incredibly embarrassed by it.

Their engagement had gotten me thinking about where I wanted my future to go. I hadn't ever really thought that far, not since Annabeth. I suppose I would live a soldiers life, fight some more battles, then retire and figure it out from there.

Perhaps I would settle down in the future, get married, have kids, and live out the rest of my days until I fade. Hopefully that would be with Artemis.

Our relationship was still so young, yet it had grown so fast. We've only been together for a bit over a month, but it feels like we've been in love for years. I've met Annabeth a couple of times since Artemis and I started going out, and the first time was pretty hectic.

_It was a week after I'd received my sword, which i had yet to name. I'd never realised how hard it was to name something until I got my sword, and it was a sword, not even something that should be hard to name like a pet. _

_I was heading down from Olympus to Camp when I was interrupted by my Dad greeting me Good Morning. I noticed he had a huge grin on his face and looked absolutely elated. "What's up with you, Dad?" I asked him, smirking. My Dad looked at me, joy in his eyes, and said breathlessly. "You're going to have a little sibling, Percy."_

_My eyes widened. "What? What do you mean by that?" He grinned like a kindergartener who'd just been giving a lollipop. "For the first time since I met Your mother, I got out there again. I finally moved on." He told me._

_I frowned. I wasn't sure if I liked that idea. It's always been in my mind that my parents loved each other, and even though my mom was already married, Dad's proclamation felt like he just told me they were getting divorced._

_Nodding, I said. "Oh, okay. Who is it? A mortal?" Poseidon nodded, a bit too frantically. "Yeah, a mortal I met in Los Angeles. Her name's Kylie, and I've just learned she's pregnant." My father was so happy to finally be getting another child after all that's happened since I showed up seven years ago. Even though I was slightly uncomfortable and upset by this, I couldn't bring myself to be mad at him._

_I couldn't bring myself to be so angry at a man whose finally found joy again._

_I smiled, and placed a hand on my Dad's shoulder. "Congrats, Dad. I'm happy for you." I told him, before pulling him into a hug._

_Once that encounter was over, I flashed down to Camp and headed towards the Big House. I needed to see Dionysus about a proposition that Zeus had brought up earlier. I had a feeling the Wine Dude would be happy about it._

_I was walking up to the porch of the Big House when I was yanked to the side by something, or rather someone. I looked over, slightly frustrated by the interruption, when I was met by a face I didn't plan on seeing today._

_My ex-girlfriend, Annabeth._

_She had a pissed-off look on her face, which I could only match with my own. I really didn't need this today. "What?" I asked, annoyed by her. She didn't lower her glare, and poked my chest furiously. "What the hell, Percy. How could you do this?" She stage-whispered._

_I tilted my head in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"_

_The daughter of Athena hissed at me. "I know your little secret, Percy. How could you do that to Lady Artemis?" I glared harder. "What do you mean? What did I do?" _

_She looked at me in disbelief, as if she thought I was playing with her. "Don't toy with me, Percy. I know you've taken advantage of her. You forced her to become your girlfriend, even though she was still dealing with a whole lot of issues."_

_I looked over my shoulder to make sure no one was listening, and then pushed her against the wall. "I did nothing like that. Artemis agreed to- wait, how do you even know? Have you been spying on me, Chase?" I interrogated, making the colour flush from her face._

_She panicked. "I overheard Jason talking about it. But still, you can't do this, Percy. She's a maiden goddess! This is basically a crime. Zeus will have your head!" She tried to convince me. I wouldn't budge._

_I sighed, and let go of her. "I don't care about Zeus. He won't touch me, as long as Dad, Aunt Hestia, and Uncle Hades still like me. You will not tell anyone about what you know, okay?" I half-reasoned, half-threatened. She didn't answer, so I took that as a yes._

_I turned around and stormed off, but before I reached the front of the big house, I heard her say. "She doesn't deserve you, Seaweed Brain. You should be mine."_

_I bolted around, and hissed at her with a terrifying look on my face. "Don't call me that. You lost the right to call me that a long time ago, Chase." I told her. I then walked around to the front door and slammed it behind me, intending to get this meeting with Dionysus over with._

My memory was interrupted by a quick tapping on the shoulder. I turned around, and was greeted with the cheerful face of my cousin, Hermes. He spread his arms wide, and engulfed me in a hug. "Perce! Long time, no see, cousin. How you been?"

I smiled at the interaction. It always felt nice to be hugged. "We saw each other on Tuesday, Hermes." I reminded him, which got a laugh. "I know. So long! Sorry, the hours at work have been killing me, but thankfully it's the weekend now. The only job I have on weekends is my normal messaging, which leads me to the reason I came here."

He pulled out a note, carefully unfolded it, cleared his throat, and read the message to me. "Percy, there is an Olympian meeting now, sincerely, Lord Zeus." Not leaving me any time to respond and flashed away, to what I assume would be Olympus.

I stood up, stretching, and flashed my way into the throne room, directly onto my throne. It was a nice chair, if I could call it that. Comfortable, yes. Stunning to look at, yes. Regal and magnificent, yes.

My head turned around the room, looking out for who was present and who wasn't. Hermes wasn't here, so he must've been getting the other's who hadn't shown up yet. Zeus sat in his throne, arms crossed, and a stern expression plastered on his face. Hera sat dutifully next to him, her lips slightly curled into a frown and looking around at all the other Olympians.

The council had a very rocky relationship, as you may know. We all hate each other somehow, but at the same time, we're family, so we love each other. For example, Zeus, the big boy himself, has many children on the council. Now, Zeus is a bit of a crappy father, so he hardly pays attention to his kids aside from a few favourites. Even though he doesn't really take notice of the gods like Hephaestus or Hermes, they're still his family, and he'd be very sad if any of us died.

I myself have no real hatred of any of them, aside from a mild dislike of one's like Ares and Zeus. They're all pretty good to be around, even Hera when she's not commenting on the way I dress or how messy my hair is. I would call most of them real friends, like Apollo or Hermes. I'm not going to rank them all, but my favourites would definitely be Artemis, Poseidon and Hestia.

More gods and goddesses flashed in, until all of them were present and seated. Some sat patiently and waited for Zeus to start, while others immediately set off talking to one another about random things.

I looked across the room and met Artemis' eye, smiling at her. She smiled back, and I could hear her voice, even though she didn't move her lips. _Hey. _

I jumped a little in my seat, which no one noticed, and looked at her with wide eyes. "What the Hades?" I mouthed to her silently, making Artemis giggle slightly. _It's the mind-link, all the Olympians have it. That way we can communicate with each other in private or long distance without Iris-messaging. I'm surprised you haven't been pranked or jumpscared by Apollo or Hermes yet. _She told me.

Confused, I mouthed. _How do I do it? _She tapped the side of her head, and spoke in mine again. _As cliche as it sounds, just think really hard. Think hard about what you want to say, and who to say it to. Then it'll just happen. _She told me.

I squinted hard at her and thought really hard about the sentence I was about to say. It must have looked really creepy, me just staring at her almost menacingly without saying anything. As it turns out, it did look creepy.

_Is it working, is it working, is it working, is it wor- hey, I can hear myself, but my lips aren't moving. I did it! _I spoke through my mind. "YES!" I screamed out loud, jumping out of my seat and pumping a fist in the air.

I then took notice of the absolute silence that had been resonating around the room for about 30 seconds, and the 13 Olympians all staring at me with curious gazes. Apollo tilted his head with a suspicious look on his face. "Uh, Percy…. Why are you staring at Artemis?"

I stuttered, and Artemis blushed, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "I was, uh…. She was teaching me how to… mind chat. Yeah." I explained, which didn't really satisfy them, even though it was the truth.

Zeus cleared his throat. "Well then, let us begin the meeting. Does anyone have anything they'd wish to say?" When no one answered, he stood up and gestured his arms to everyone, looking pointedly at me.

"Does anyone deny that Perseus is worthy?" He said without elaboration, just raised an eyebrow. No one put their hand up at first, but then I saw Ares slowly lift his arm. Everyone glared at him, but he didn't lower his hand. "I stand by my opinion. I'll never like him. Respect him, maybe, but not like."

I could understand that, he was still mad after I kicked his ass at age 12. Pussy.

I looked puzzledly at Zeus. "What even is this? What am I worthy of?" Zeus sat down again, and pulled a piece of paper out of his suit pocket, looking towards me. "Athena and I have been discussing things lately. As you all know, we are at war, and we are nearing closer to the fight. Unfortunately, we are not prepared for such a war, especially after the last two."

"Furthermore, the society we have going is slowly crumbling day by day. We as a council are barely in charge anymore. The Camps have become almost independent, managing to thrive on their own while still doing tasks for us. The minor gods are pretty much only loyal to Perseus, since he had them all pardoned and freed, and they show dislike of the Council." He said, which caused an uproar.

Many were outraged at the idea of independent demigods, or of minor gods being loyal to only me. I found it hard to believe. Sure I got them all pardoned and freed, but it's not like I was their king now, I just got on their good side.

"But brother, it's always been that way. We haven't been allowed to interfere with the demigods until after the Second Giant War, and the minor gods have never liked us." Dad reminded him, but he was corrected by Athena.

"Actually, Seaweed Brain, we've always been able to control the demigods and order them around, but now they sometimes just ignore our demands, and many are 'forgetting' to sacrifice food."

Oh wait, is that what that huge repeated intake of delicious smells at approximately 8am, 12pm, and 6pm is? Have I just been getting all the sacrifices. Yeah, I might not mention that to the council.

Zeus cleared his throat, shutting the two of them up, and continued. "Anyway, aside from that, a problem has also arisen that will drastically change our position in the war. It seems that with the Second Titan and Giant Wars behind us, the demigods have gotten lazy. They've fallen behind on training, few of them go on missions anymore, and there's a reason many of them have fallen to Erebus' troops."

Many gods looked worried, and I was still wondering how this tied in with me. "Athena and I have decided, well.. Come up with an idea to deal with these issues. The campers and minor gods obviously need training, discipline, and someone to lead them for when the fighting begins, and since both of us are too busy to deal with other matters, we propose that Perseus be promoted."

All the gods gasped, and even I was shocked that Zeus was _promoting _me. He looked at me. "So, does anyone deny that Perseus is worthy of the new title, General of the Armies of Olympus." He asked, though it sounded rhetorical.

My eyes were wider than your mom, and my mouth hung down to the floor. Did Zeus seriously just suggest that I be in charge of Olympus' armies? I don't think he's quite come to terms with the fact that _every single battle _I've fought was just me charging blindly at whatever monster it was. Sometimes I did come up with some plan to defeat the tougher ones, but I doubt I could invent battle plans. That was always more Annabeth's thing.

I almost choked and died when once again, only Ares raised his hand, meaning that the vote was 13 to 1 in favour of it. Zeus nodded to me, and told me to stand up, which I did. The council rose as well, and I stood in the middle, where Dad had gestured for me to go.

"Do you, Perseus, God of Time, Earth, Swordsmanship, Heroes, and Tides, accept the honor of becoming the official General of Olympus' Armies? Do you swear to serve Olympus loyally, and to lead it's soldiers into battle with pride? Do you swear to never abandon your soldiers in their time of need, and to serve until you fade?" Zeus asked with a loud and thunderous voice.

I gulped, looking at all the faces staring expectantly at me. My eyes met those of Artemis, and I smiled nervously. She nodded reassuringly at me, and I steeled my gaze on the King. "I do."

Surprisingly, my Uncle smiled, and said softly. "Good."

He then summoned a weird ball of power and threw it at me.

My vision flared, and I screamed out in pain. My legs suddenly detached from the ground and I realised I was floating. Many people around me shouted my name, but my hearing was flooding with demonic screaming like that of a banshee. I knew it wasn't mine, but I didn't know whose it was.

I heard a lot thud and felt a lot of pain on my right side, and realised I had fallen to the ground and rolled onto my back. My vision was blurred, and my hearing impaired, but I could make out some shadows and the feeling of smallish arms wrapping around me.

Slowly, my senses returned, and I felt something wet land on my cheek, which startled me. Thankfully, my fright fully fixed me, and I could see what it was.

Artemis knelt there beside me, her arms wrapped around my torso, propping me up. She had tears pouring out of her eyes. The other Olympians stood around us, looking down at me with worry, Zeus especially. Dad glared at him furiously, and my sensitive ears stung when he shouted. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, ZEUS?"

I visibly flinched, which alerted Artemis to the fact that I was still conscious. In a bout of joy, relief and happiness, she locked lips with me in front of all the Olympians. Obviously, the universal reaction was a loud gasp from everyone but the three gods who already knew, and the two youngest sons of Kronos.

Zeus rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I didn't do it. It was supposed to award him the blessings of all the Olympians, but his body reacted badly to it. I don't know if it's because he used to be a demigod or- no it wouldn't be, because we gave it to Heracles. Is he sick?" The Sky god told his brother.

Dad's nostrils flared. "No! He isn't sick, you idiot. You probably did it wrong, or put to much power in, and now he's probably dead- WHAT?" Poseidon turned and screamed at Hades, who didn't react to his younger brother's anger.

The God of the Underworld and poked him to get his attention, and when Dad yelled at him, and pointed to where all the other gods were looking. Poseidon and Zeus both looked down, and gasped dramatically.

Poseidon's favourite son and Zeus' favourite daughter sat there on the floor of the throne room, making out in front of everyone. They both had very different reactions. Poseidon's reaction was full of joy, relief and happiness, very similar to Artemis', while Zeus' was full of rage, which I could instantly tell was directed at me.

Artemis and I broke apart, and looked at everyone expectantly, waiting for one of them to have a violent outburst. Of course, Zeus fulfilled our expectations, screaming at the top of his lungs. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?"

Artemis and I looked at each other, and stood up together. I looked at her, and she nodded in confirmation, letting me link my hand with hers. We stood tall, and stared Zeus defiantly in the eyes.

Artemis was the one to tell him, surprisingly, and declared to the throne room. "Percy and I are dating."

**Okay, I'm going to end it here. For the next few chapters, there's gonna be time skips at the start of each chapter. It'll kick into the Dark Lord Percy part soon, don't worry. I just don't wanna suddenly drop him in as evil without developing some things first. It'll all come into play. Review what you thought!**

**Word Count: 3683**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Life Goes On

**I actually didn't know what to do for this chapter, so I just put together a bunch of filler moments into one chapter, instead of wasting 500ish words in another irrelevant chapter. The next chapter will be more important to the story. Thanks for reading this far, I really like writing this story and coming up with ideas for it. I've got a lot for story after Percy becomes evil.**

Chapter 8: Life Goes On

**Percy's P.O.V.**

I tossed and turned in the bed, trying to rid myself of the nightmare that I was being plagued with.

_I stood in a dry, barren field, looking out over the wasteland towards a large dark structure. Artemis stood beside me, and I noticed there were tear stains on her face, and she was shivering. Apollo had his arm around her shoulders, comforting his sister._

_I wanted to reach out and comfort her too, but something told me not to. The rest of the Olympians were there too, along with many faces that seemed to be blurred in my dream. A man stood about 50 feet ahead of us, a sword drawn, and he was panting heavily._

_There was fresh blood on the sword, and I saw a corpse slumped over and leaning against the large structure, which I realised was a massive open gate. I couldn't see through the gate, as it was blurred with shadows and fog._

_I jumped in fright when a loud, deep sound was heard coming from somewhere in the fog and darkness. Stones on the ground began to shake, as the rumbling of what I assumed to be many footsteps sounded._

_The people around us got into battle formation, ready for whatever was coming. There was a heavy chanting coming from the darkness, and we still couldn't see whatever army was coming to face us. _

_Apollo let go of Artemis and reached for his bow, while Artemis herself unsheathed her silver daggers. I reached for Riptide, but was confused to find that the pen wasn't in my pocket. I looked at Artemis, panicked, and told her. "I can't find Riptide, or my new sword."_

_She didn't respond, so I said it a bit louder. "Artemis, I can't find- Artemis! Artemis!" I began shouting, trying to get her attention. She still didn't seem to notice me, and I tried gaining the attention of someone else._

_I clapped in front of people's eyes, screamed at them, even tried faking a punch to the face. No one reacted, and before I could even try to comprehend what was going on, I heard a loud sound behind me._

_Huge footsteps._

_A large figure emerged from the shadows, wielding a sword that absolutely radiated pure evil. He stood at almost 30 feet tall, dwarfing all the gods, and had a long black cape that was ripped and torn near the end._

_He wore metal plate armor over his entire body, including a crowned helmet with eye holes full of darkness. The blade in his hand seemed sharper than Hermes's tongue, as if it could tear apart a god in one clean swipe._

_I stood, petrified as I stared at what I could only perceive as evil itself. Was this Erebus? Was this who I was going to face head-to-head in the near future. Was I in a vision?_

_The guy who was previously standing over the fresh corpse stepped back slowly in terror, some people near the front ushering him back frantically. The Olympians and faceless figures around us all got ready to attack, and I decided that all I could do was watch._

_I remained staring at the tall figure in front of us, not knowing what to do. He was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen. The darkness seemed attracted to him, and I gasped as he turned to face me, staring me directly in the eyes._

_His eyes were gold._

I woke up in a cold sweat, praying to whatever higher beings there were that it was just a dream. Just a dream, that was all it was, that was all it could be. Just a dream. Just a dream.

My breathing steadied as I calmed down, and I stopped sweating profusely, using my water powers to dry myself off. Gods, waking up in a cold sweat is the worst feeling ever. You feel disgusting and drenched.

My eyes drifted over to my sleeping girlfriend, Artemis. She lay on her side facing me, her hands tucked under her head in a makeshift pillow position, even though she had a pillow.

The cold winds of the night thrashed wildly against the walls of the tent, and I could hear thunder and lightning in the distance. Thankfully, the hunters knew how to tie things down, so I didn't worry about the whole tent being carried off by the wind.

I felt something warm wrap around my bicep, and looked down to see Artemis staring up at me drowsily. "Percy? What's wrong?" She asked, blinking repeatedly, trying to get the sleep out of her eyes.

I shook my head, smiling at her. "Nothing, Moonbeam. Go back to sleep." I told her, and she nodded, lying back down with my arm in her hand, tugging me down too. I rested my head on the pillow while she snuggled up to me.

I never would've thought that Artemis, the Man-Hating Goddess, could ever be so affectionate to a male. Once you got through her borders, she was actually really caring and not so indifferent as people made her out to be.

Lightning struck again, and I felt Artemis jolt in shock. I laughed, which caused her to glare at me. "You're scared of Thunder, a daughter of Zeus?" I asked her, barely containing my laughter.

She huffed, and corrected me. "No, I just wasn't expecting it, is all." I rolled my eyes.

"I used to be afraid of thunder and lightning, you know." She said out of the blue about five minutes later. My eyebrow raised, and I smirked down at her. "Really?"

She nodded. "Before I found out Zeus was my father, I'd be scared to death every time a storm hit Delos. Mom and Apollo would be sound asleep across the room and I'd be lying awake for hours on end, flinching every time the noise came." She confessed, and I nodded, pulling her closer.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, you're not the only one with a silly fear. I'm deathly afraid of drowning." I admitted, making her look at me in confusion. "That's not stupid. I'd be afraid of drowning too."

I shook my head. "Yeah, but I'm a Son of Poseidon, Moonbeam. I _can't _drown. Unless I'm in the River Styx or something." She blushed in embarrassment. "Oh yeah."

We lay awake for a little while longer, eventually falling asleep once more in each other's arms.

_Seven Months Later_

Many of us sat outside the medical tent by the campfire in waiting, though not all of us patiently. Leo was pacing around the firepit, muttering to himself. He laughed, so I assumed he told himself a joke in a very tense and stressful situation.

Chiron clopped around with his arms crossed, obviously worried for his two former students currently inside the medical tent. His brown tail swished around behind him, accidentally whacking Frank in the face.

It's been a while since I've seen Frank and Hazel. Perhaps I should go talk to them to kill some time, I thought. I walked over and sat down next to the two.

Both were gods now, thanks to them being a part of the Seven. Frank became the Minor God of Warfare and Archery, while Hazel had her age boosted to 18 to match Frank, and she became the Minor Goddess of Wealth, Minerals and Hope.

"Hey guys, long time no see." I greeted my old friends, and they both looked up and smiled, greeting me back. "How've you been, Percy?" Hazel asked. I shrugged. "Not much has happened since I last saw you guys."

Then suddenly I remembered everything that had happened since I'd last seen them. "Well actually that's a lie. A lot has happened. For starters, I'm an Olympian, as you know, and that's been pretty boring so far. I'm dating Artemis, so I got that going for me. Oh, and Hephaestus forged me a master weapon so that I can fight Erebus with Ares, Athena and Artemis." I recapped, making their jaws drop to the floor

"What?!" Hazel gasped. I gave her a grin and turned to Frank, slapping him on the bicep. "You been working out, Frank?" The son of Mars blushed, and muttered just loud enough for me to hear. "Yeah, I have."

He cleared his throat, and regained some confidence. "I decided I didn't want to be chubby for all my life, so I actually tried the workouts the Romans do. It's hard, but it gets the job done." He said. I laughed, trying to imagine the chubby, insecure boy who'd I'd travelled with to rescue Thanatos as buff as Jason and as confident as Leo.

"What about you, Hazel?" I asked, seeing if anything was new with her. She thought for a second. "Nothing. It's weird being 18, though. I'm an adult. Just a few months ago I was barely a teenager, and now I can legally own a house."

Before our conversation could escalate further, Apollo and Artemis walked out of the tent. We all stood up, waiting for the news. Apollo grinned and announced to everyone who'd been waiting.

"It's a boy!"

We all cheered loudly, forcing Artemis to quickly hush us. "You'll disturb the mother and her baby. They'll be out later, so go take your celebrations somewhere else. Oh, and Percy, they want to see you." She added, and I nodded, smiling at her.

She was there because, being the goddess of childbirth, she was naturally talented in that kind of stuff. She's basically a midwife, though she doesn't do it often. Really only when she's asked by other gods, sometimes she'd help a mortal if the baby was the product of rape. I decided to ask if she'd help, since it would be easier on Piper and Jason's hand hopefully wouldn't be broken.

Apollo was there for obvious reasons, since he was basically the doctor of Olympus. As goofy and carefree as he was, he took this kind of stuff seriously. Even though everyone just thinks of him as one of the more silly gods, he has seen some messed up stuff, and he has lost friends just like everyone else. Apollo doesn't get enough credit for all he's been through.

Zeus led the various demigods and gods that had come away to party, Apollo and Artemis following. I took a deep breath, and then entered the tent.

It was empty, except for a single bed not far from the entrance. I approached the bed, and what a saw put a wide grin on my face.

Piper was sat up in bed, her eyes barely open due to tiredness, yet she still had a large smile on her face. She cradled a small sky-blue bundle in her arms, ever so slightly rocking it. Jason sat next to her on a chair, an equally large smile on his face. He lifted his arm and tickled the bundle with his finger, causing a loud giggle.

Jason gestured me over, and I did so, getting my first good look at the baby in her arms. He had little tufts of blond hair, and his eyes were an array of different colors, similar to Piper. They were mainly green, but with specks of blue, brown and hazel floating around, like a whirlpool of space dust. It was honestly one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen.

The child grinned a wide, toothless smile and giggled when I came in to view. I reached down and stroked his cheek, taking it all in. The first demigod of a new generation. Jason smiled at me. "Percy, say hello to your godson, "

_Nine months later_

Nico stood by the podium with his legs shaking in nervousness. I was next to him, trying to subtly comfort my cousin while dozens of people watched in excitement.

Will was about a foot away from him, a golden smile on his face. They both wore matching tuxedos and had their hands linked, Will's thumb stroking the back of Nico's hand comfortingly, which made Death Breath calm down a bit.

On the other side of Will stood Apollo, his father, as his Best Man. The god flashed a smile at me, and I nodded in return. Hera stood at the podium, as she was the goddess of marriage, so she would be officiating the wedding of a Hero of Olympus.

I looked out over the crowd of people in attendance. We decided that since Nico was a god and Will wasn't, all the immortals would be seated on Nico's side, while the demigods and Will's mother sat on the other. Once they were married, Will would be granted semi-immortality like the Hunters, so he could only die if killed.

Jason and Thalia sat together on Nico's side. Thalia came with the hunters and had Jason on one side, with Artemis on the other. They waved at me, and I nodded again in acknowledgement. Piper nudged Jason and handed their son to him. He started to play with the infant, Thalia occasionally reaching over to coo at in, very unlike Thalia.

Hades and Persephone sat at the front as well, Persephone with a bright smile plastered on her face. Hades, incapable of truly showing a smile, had a proud look on his face and he stared at his son and future son-in-law.

Hera raised her arms in a silencing motion, encouraging everyone in the hall to do just that. Nico's breathing increased slightly as he looked at Will's reassuring face, and I hoped that he would actually go through with this.

The Queen of Olympus cleared her throat, and began the ceremony. "We gather here today to celebrate the union of these two souls, Nico di Angelo and Will Solace. In the years they have been together, their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured, and now they have decided to live their lives together as husbands, now and forever."

Nico tightened his hold around Will's hands. "Of course, marriage is a big decision, and it will change your life forever, for better or worse. It is best that we think carefully about who it is we wish to marry, and when to do so. I trust that the two of you have taken the time to think about this?" The two nodded at her, and she continued.

"Now, the vows. Which of you would like to go first?" She asked, and Will stood up straighter, clearing his throat.

"I, Will Solace, Son of Apollo and Naomi Solace, promise to love you without condition, to honor you each and every day, to laugh with you when you're happy, to support you in your times of sadness, to guide you when you're in need of direction, to challenge you to be a better person, and allow you to do the same for me. I promise to be your biggest fan, and your ever present listening audience. I promise to love and cherish you with every fibre of my being, Nico di Angelo." He vowed.

Trust it to an Apollo kid to make it all poetic.

Everyone's heads turned to Nico expectantly, and I noticed how nervous he immediately became. I didn't blame him. Only 16 years old and he was already reading his wedding vows. If only Bianca could see him now. I'm sure she would be proud of her baby brother, wherever she was. Nico gulped, and recited his vows to Will.

"I, Nico di Angelo, Son of Hades and Maria di Angelo, vow to always be there when you are in need, to comfort you in times of stress, to remain a faithful and loyal husband to you, to never abandon you in your time of need, to recognize that your needs are more important than mine. I promise to give you the best man that I can be, and nothing less. I promise to eternally love and cherish you. I promise never to leave you. You are the other half of my soul, Will Solace, and I wish to spend all eternity by your side." He said.

Will was in tears (of joy, of course), and Nico smiled at him lovingly. Hera called upon the rings, and I handed Will's to Nico. It was golden, with intricate markings carved in it. The markings were Greek, and translated to _My Eternal Light_. It was truly a beautiful ring.

Nico slipped it onto his finger, and Will did the same. They linked hands once more, and Hera closed the ceremony. "Now, by the power invested in me as the Goddess of Marriage, I now pronounce you two husband's for all eternity. You may now kiss."

Will immediately pulled Nico in for a kiss, the sounds of the audience clapping fading into the background as they became each other's for all eternity.

**And that's a wrap! There were a few minor things that I was thinking of putting into this chapter, but I decided against it, I didn't want this to stretch on to 6000 words, as it wouldn't be released for another 3 weeks. I barely got this chapter out, school work has been catching up with me. I need your help, what do I name Jason/Piper's son? I haven't really delved into the Jasper (Or as I like to call it, Lightning McLean) fandom, so I don't know what a popular baby name between them is. Please leave a review either with your opinion on the chapter or the baby name, I'd really like to know. Okay, bye guys.**

**Word Count: 3015**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Love And Blood Under The Moonlight

**I like to write about Pertemis stuff, so this chapter is gonna be both important to the story and just Pertemis stuff I wanted to include. I wish I could put more Pertemis moments in this, but the story would get too long. Please remember to leave suggestions for Jason and Piper's son. I'm bad at names. Also, I'm thinking about starting a second story which would just be extra stories from this universe, stuff that I didn't want to put here because otherwise I'd have like 3 filler chapters. I guess I could throw the extra pertemis scenes in there. What do you guys think? I'd still work on this, but I'd add a random story every once in a while.**

Chapter 9: Love And Blood Under The Moonlight

_Artemis P.O.V._

A loud thud echoed through the forest as the deer hit the ground, dead with a silver arrow protruding from its body. Percy looked back and smiled at me, excitement in his eyes. "I did it! Did you see it, Moonbeam?" He told me, and I laughed. He was like a child, and in his eyes I could see what innocence the Fates had let him maintain.

I nodded, walking up and wrapping my arms around his neck. "I saw, Percy. I'm so proud." I told him, and the God leaned down and kissed me softly. "Well, I learned from the best, of course." He said, making me blush and bury my face into his neck. His smell was so intoxicating, I could stay like that all day.

I looked up at him. "My brother would disagree." He unhooked my arms from his shoulders and reached out a hand. I took it, and he told me with a grin on his face. "That's why people consider you the smarter one."

I rolled my eyes. "How flattering." My legs were swept out from under me, inciting a very un-Artemis squeal. He whistled, a different one to his Pegasus calling, and a bark was heard from the treeline.

A young wolf bounded out from the brush and headed straight for the deer carcass. It grasped the calf in its maw, and with surprising strength, managed to easily drag the large animal towards us with haste, not wanting to be left behind.

This was Perseus' pet wolf he'd adopted two weeks ago, Achilles. He'd named it this because he hopes of making it so the pup would never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever get hurt, because that would absolutely be the death of Percy. He loved animals too much.

The pup had wandered into our camp a few weeks ago, sniffing around for food. It had stumbled into one of the tents, scaring one of the younger hunters out of their sleep and making one of the older hunters grab her weapons and chase the wolf out of the tent.

The commotion had alerted Percy, who was on night watch at the time, and he made it there before the rest of us had even left our tents. The hunter, Atalanta, chased the dog out with her knives on hand, and tripped right outside the tent, letting the dog get away.

Percy showed up, blocking the wolf's escape through the main pathway towards the campfire, and the pup ended up colliding with Percy and knocking him over. The pup cowered into Percy, begging for help against Atalanta. When the hunter came and explained what had happened, he refused to let her anywhere near the wolf.

I came over, asking what happened, they both explained, and I was forced to choose sides. Percy wanted to protect the dog, and wouldn't let it go, while Atalanta argued that it was nothing more than a wild animal who was scrounging through their belongings.

My vote was sealed, however, when the younger hunters woke up and saw the dog, immediately becoming smitten with it. I couldn't bear to break their hearts and kick the dog out, or worse, let Atalanta kill it, so now Percy has officially adopted the dog.

The wolf was easily trained, and even Atalanta took an eventual liking to it, and now it has become a favourite companion of Percy's. My lover set me down when we reached the camp, and left to do something else, while I went to see how my hunters were doing today.

Phoebe was helping the younger hunters practise their archery, so I decided I'd stay and support them as well. We had quite a few young hunters, 12 that were under the age of 10, to be exact. Most were girls that we had rescued from abusive homes or even one we'd taken from a child sex trafficking ring. Her name was Ariel, she was a daughter of Aphrodite.

She was currently struggling with correctly holding her bow, and since Phoebe was off tending to Lucille, I decided to assist Ariel. The little girl was holding the bow wrong, trying desperately to pull the arrow back in the strange position. I smiled, and grabbed onto her arms. "Here, let me show you, Ariel."

She smiled, and thanked me. I stood behind her, and arranged her arms and legs in the right position, holding them there. "All right, now pull back the arrow, aim, and fire when you're ready." I told her, and she nodded, pulling the arrow back until it was just in front of her shoulder.

She was swaying the bow, and I patted her on the shoulder. "Breathe, don't hold it in." She nodded, letting her breathing even out. She stood there for about ten seconds, not doing anything, and right before I was about to tell her that she could fire, she released the arrow.

It soared quickly, connecting to the target with the sound of wood splitting. I looked over and smiled when I saw that it was almost a bullseye. Not quite in the middle, the arrow had drifted to the bottom-right, but still great for a six year old.

Ariel grinned at me, her face lit up with happiness. It was hard to imagine that such horrible things had happened to such a cheerful young girl. She pointed at the target enthusiastically. "I did it! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She said, latching her arms around my waist and squeezing the life out of me.

I laughed, and hugged her back. "Great job, Ariel. Remember to work on it, though." I congratulated her, and she nodded frantically, still high on enthusiasm. She grabbed another arrow from the bucket and went back to aiming, trying to mimic the position I'd taught her.

I left the archery range and walked towards the campfire. Before I could reach it, however, I was derailed by Atalanta, one of my eldest hunter's and one of my brother's first children. "Hey Auntie, can we go to McDonald's?" She asked, grinning at me.

I tilted my head. "Um…. sure… let me just go ask the hunters." I told her, resuming my walk towards the campfire, but she cut me off, stepping in front of me and blocking my path.

"N-no! Why doesn't it just be us? You know, Auntie-Niece bonding time." She proposed, and I crossed my arms, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Half the hunt is made up of my nieces. Why can't we include them?" I questioned, making her fumble with her words.

"I, uh, I just want some private time with you, to…. discuss a problem I've been having recently." She said, and though I was still slightly suspicious, I accepted it.

"Fine. When do you want to go?" Atalanta immediately said. "Now." Again, I was suspicious at the sudden want for McDonald's and 'a talk', but I relented, flashing us to a McDonald's in Nashville, Tennessee.

_Two hours later_

I don't know how time managed to pass so fast in a _McDonald's_, especially with little actual conversation, but it did. When we got there, I ordered our food, the young lady working there was very nice, and we sat down.

There was a lot of beating around the bush, and by a lot, I mean a LOT. About two hours of it to be exact. Atalanta hardly spoke until our food arrived, choosing to use the burger as an excuse not to talk.

It was mostly just back and forth bickering with me trying to figure out what her problem was and her trying adamantly to dodge my attempts at conversation. Nothing else really happened, although I did notice the Son of Hades was there as well. Our eyes met, but he quickly averted his gaze. I shrugged it off -Percy had told how the Son of Hades had a liking of McDonald's- and assumed it to be a coincidence.

After about four full meals, Atalanta finally relented and told me. "I wanna go back to the Hunt now, Auntie." To say I was annoyed was an understatement. I thought she'd lied about having a problem just to get some McDonald's. I didn't speak a word to her the entire trip back, storming off once we'd reached the camp.

Atalanta ran to catch up with me, grabbing onto my shirt. "Auntie, wait!" I stopped suddenly and bolted around, glaring at her. "What?! You gonna take advantage of me again?! Make me worry about you so I'll give you what you want?! Well, no Atalanta. I'm not falling for that again!" I yelled, making her back up in fright.

I was panting, recovering from my outburst only for my heart to immediately sink. My niece had tears in her eyes, and managed to weakly whisper. "Percy said to do it." My eyes widened, and I stuttered. "W-what."

Atalanta explained. "Percy said he needed me to distract you for a couple of hours, and that was the only way I thought would work for sure. Come on, they should be ready now." She said, wiping the few tears she had away, and walking off.

"Wait!" I said, grabbing her shoulder. She turned around, not meeting my gaze, and forcing me to do the only thing I could to help the situation. I embraced my favourite niece in a hug and whispered apologies to her.

She hugged back, and quietly said to me. "It's okay, Auntie. I'm sorry too. Come on, let's go find the other's." She said, breaking the hug, and I nodded. My niece walked off towards the woods, gesturing for me to follow.

It was almost sunset now, and we trekked through the woods towards wherever Atalanta was taking me. I felt nervous. What was Percy and the Hunters planning? Why did they need hours to prepare it? I feel heated, like I was sweating but without the fluids. I was worried.

Atalanta pushed through some shrubbery at the edge of the forest and stepped aside for me to go. When I got out, I gasped. It was beautiful.

We appeared at a beach, the setting sun in full view on the Californian coast. Percy stood alone on the sand, looking at me with a smile on his face. His hands were behind his back, and I stepped towards him. Looking behind me, I noticed that Atalanta had disappeared without me noticing. I've taught her well.

I approached Percy, unsure of what was happening. When I reached him, he grinned, and grabbed my hands. I let him, wondering where this all was going. His thumb stroked the back of my hand comfortingly, and I looked up at him with curiosity.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, before he opened them again. Those beautiful sea-green orbs petrified my silver ones, and he spoke with breathlessness in his voice.

"Artemis, I know we haven't been together for very long, and I know we really have the rest of eternity to be with each other, but I want to do this now. Things have been heating up recently. Erebus has gotten increasingly violent, and I've got the campers training hard every day. Any day now could be an all out war." He sighed, a crestfallen look flashing on his face, though it disappeared quickly.

"And with war, comes death… we don't know what will happen. We have no control who lives, who dies, nor what happens to us afterwards. We can only try and influence those decisions as best we can, and we just have to accept whatever our fate is." I nodded, remembering my best friend Zoe, who'd known the same thing.

"I don't know what will happen to either of us, whether we'll survive, die, or our lives will be a living hell afterwards. These next few days could be the only good ones we have left. I want to make the most of them." He said, and my eyes widened as he got down onto one knee.

Tears welled up in my eyes when he reached in his pocket and pulled out a ring. It was gorgeous. Carefully carved out many different minerals, it was silver and sea-green in colour, with a plethora of colours in the main gem, formed out of multiple jewels.

My hands reached up to cover my open mouth, while he began his speech. "Artemis, we've only been dating for a year, but it's probably been the best year of my life. I spent that year by your side, and I want it to stay that way forever. I know it may seem a bit soon, but I don't know how long we have left, so I ask you this. Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, Moon, Wilderness, Virginity and Childbirth. Will you marry me?" He proposed.

I couldn't hold it back anymore, and the tears came spilling out. I choked on my words. It was hard to believe that this was really happening. Perseus, my one true love, the man who I would break my vow for, was proposing to me. The idea of spending eternity by his side, starting a family, even just the day we'd say 'I do', it was the most appealing thing I'd ever imagined.

I laughed in joy and disbelief, managing to choke out to the kneeling god. "Yes. Yes! Yes, I'll marry you, Percy!" He grinned, laughing as well, and grabbed my hand. He slipped the wrong on my finger and I held it up, admiring the beauty.

Percy stood up and grabbed my waist, pulling me closer. He kissed me passionately, and my mind went into a state of bliss as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

We heard the sound of someone clearing their throat, and looked towards the forest. All the hunters were standing right next to us, huge smiles on their faces. Ariel ran and tackled the two of us in a hug, the rest of the hunt followed suit.

We laughed in each other's arms as the sun set behind us, signalling the end of a day. Percy got up, lifting two hunters with him. He placed them down and held out his hand towards me. "Come on, I want to show you all something." He told us. Once we were all standing, we linked hands, and Percy flashed us away.

Once the light faded away, I was immediately deafened by the sound of hundreds of people cheering. I looked around. We were on Olympus, in the grand hall to be exact, and it was packed full of hundreds of people, all drinking and partying. I recognized gods, demigods, friendly titans and other nature spirits all in attendance.

Zeus walked over and clapped Percy on the shoulder. "Percy, my boy! I see my daughter accepted your proposal. Congratulations!" Percy thanked him, and I smiled at my father. Poseidon also came over and hugged the two of us, congratulating his son and I on our engagement.

Zeus led us up to the head table which was reserved for the 15 Olympians, and called for silence from the room. It was granted, and his voice thundered across the room. "As you are all aware by now, our guests of honor have arrived! We celebrate tonight, not only to lighten the mood in these dark times, but also to celebrate the engagement of my daughter, Artemis, and Poseidon's son, Perseus. May their future fare them well and their lives be filled with love and happiness. We'll patiently wait for the wedding date." He announced, and the whole hall broke out into cheers and applause.

I blushed, and Percy grabbed my hand, smiling at me. I calmed down, and to lighten the spirits of the party, Percy raised the wine cup towards the crowd. "Now, who wants to get shitfaced!?" He declared, again followed by a burst of cheers, especially from my brother Dionysus.

It was one of the best parties I'd ever attended, not just because it was in my honor. Usually at Olympian parties Athena and I would sit at the high table and sip our wine, chatting while the rest of the gods partied hard. This time, both of us were getting into it, drinking and dancing 'till we couldn't stand up straight.

Apollo was in charge of the music, and for once, I couldn't criticize his choice. I remember little about the actual party, though I recall that Percy and I participated in multiple competitions with the other Olympians, including drinking contests and arm wrestles.

Percy engaged in an arm wrestle with none other than Ares, and I have to say, even though Percy was much smaller than the god of war, it was a very close match. The both of them had faces like they were taking the full force of a dying star, but eventually whether it was due to his opponent's raw strength, or his drunkenness catching up, but eventually Ares' arm fell to the side, Percy's pushing it to the table.

I entered a darts competition with my brother, which, like the Ares v Percy contest, was very close. We were equal score almost the whole game until the last throw, where my brother's aim wavered and he pinned Poseidon in the thigh, while I just barely hit the board.

Most of the Olympians also participated in a drinking contest with Dionysus, but of course, none prevailed. The party went strong well into early morning, and Percy and I were two of the first to retire. We bid the attendees goodbye and flashed out, back to my palace.

**Mature content ahead**

Before you judge me for what happened next, we were drunk and recently engaged so it wasn't really anyone's fault. The two of us walked upstairs past the hunters bedroom, where the younger ones and some of the older ones were taken earlier when the party got more hectic and later.

We entered my bedroom, which was currently clean, though that would most certainly change for sure. Before we could even think properly, Percy pushed me against the wall and began heatedly making out with me.

I fought back with my tongue and all it came to was a stalemate of tongues exploring each other's mouth. I moaned, and he smiled, becoming more rough in the way he held me. I'm not going to lie, I loved every bit of it. He was sexy when he acted like that.

He began feeling me up, still drunk as Hades, and I didn't even try to resist. His hands felt so good on my found. I did, however, fight back, and reached out to grab the growing bulge in his pants.

I broke the kiss and looked down, smirking. "Someone's excited." I teased, eliciting a growl from my fiance. "Are you going to do anything about it?" He whispered huskily into my ear, making me so much more aroused.

I threw off my jacket and boots, really getting into the mood. He removed his shirt, giving me a look at his muscular chest and toned eight pack, and I followed suit, taking my bra off with it. I walked over and kissed him passionately, slowly trailing my hand down his chest, stopping to feel up his abs.

My hand descended further, and made quick work of the belt he wore. He'd grown exponentially compared to before, and he growled into the kiss as my hand reached down into his pants and felt the tool he hid. I smirked as he moaned, feeling it up.

His hand reached behind my head and grabbed my hair, his dominating side taking over. "Teasing isn't very nice, Moonbeam." I decided to finally appease him, and sunk to my knees, pulling his cock free from his pants, all the while I never broke eye contact.

His cock was very big, not over exaggeratedly big, but most definitely bigger than the average male's. I could wrap both hands around the shaft and still have the head poking out. "Wow." I said sultrily. "It's so big."

Despite this being my first time, I didn't feel at all nervous in the slightest. I leaned forward and, maintaining eye contact, kissed the head of his cock while stroking it, making him moan. Knowing he wanted more, I opened my mouth and engulfed the long hard tool in my mouth, meeting no gag reflex.

Percy moaned, as the first person to be touched so intimately by the Goddess of the Hunt, and grabbed onto my hair roughly. I decided to let him take control and ceased my resistance to his pull, relishing in the feeling of my lover face fucking me.

His cock sank down my throat multiple times, until each time he thrusted, my face was almost touching his body. I kept my eyes locked onto his as he increased his speed and strength, almost mouth raping me, though I definitely enjoyed it.

He slowed down and said he was about to come. I took him out of my mouth and licked his tip a few times, stroking him repeatedly. It wasn't long before he came, plastering my face and open mouth with his seed.

I swallowed what landed in my mouth, also wiping the stuff that landed on my face off and licking that up too. I swallowed and smiled at him. "Mmm, delicious."

I stood up, and proceeded to strip myself of the rest of my clothes, which basically consisted of my pants and underwear at this point. He took in the view of my naked form, smirking the whole time. He stepped over to me and put his hands on my hips.

"Well then, before we start, how do you want it, Moonbeam? Do you want to make love like the gods we are, or would you prefer it if I fucked your brains out and came all over you?" He teased, and I shivered at his husky, dominating tone. "I want you to violate me, Percy. Make me scream and beg for your cum. Fuck me like a god." I told him with a moan in my voice.

That was all he needed to hear, as he began groping and kissing me, pulling my body closer to him. When he'd had enough,he turned me around and pushed me over, so I lay on the bed with my ass pointing towards the sky.

I got where he was going and bit my lip with a smile, shaking my ass at him enticingly. He came over and held it, running his strong hands over my pussy and asshole, making my knees tremble.

I looked back at him, and he grinned maliciously as he grabbed his erect cock and pointed it at the asshole. He rubbed it against the hole teasingly, and whispered in my ear. "I'm going to make you fucking scream, baby." Then he shoved his cock full force into my asshole.

I screamed out in pain, which soon subsided into pleasure as he pulled his cock in and out of my ass. He grabbed my hair in a fistful and yanked, pulling my head all the way back as I moaned in pleasure while he fucked my ass.

His balls pounded against my ass as he dominated me like a beast. He growled when I moaned repeatedly, increasing his tempo and pulling my hair more. I was in heaven as my lover pounded away repeatedly at my virgin asshole, and I became aroused at the thought of what he'd do to my tight pussy. I'd been saving it for 4000 years, and tonight was going to be the night I'd finally get the fucking I'd craved since birth.

This time he didn't warn me that he was about to come, only increasing his ferocity. I could barely breathe as I screamed Percy's name over and over again, craving that sweet release of hot cum into my anus. Finally, with a gigantic thrust, Percy came, making me moan again as my tight ass was filled to the brim with his seed.

Percy didn't leave time for a breather, though, as he flipped me over and aimed his cock at the entrance of my pussy. I looked deep into his eyes as he whispered to me. "Beg for me, Moonbeam. Beg for me to take your virginity and finally make you a woman." He said. His eyes reminded of that of a beast about to go in for the kill.

I grinded against his cock, my desire for it reaching new heights in this very moment. I moaned into ear. "I want you to fuck me, Percy. I want you to take your cock, shove it in my tight little pussy and fuck me until I pass out. I want you to fill me to the brim with your cum. Impregnate me. Violate me. Dominate me, Percy." I begged.

He growled, and entered my waiting pussy. The second his head pushed through the outer layer of my vagina, I felt a whole new sensation of pleasure. My mouth was in a permanent O formation as I tried desperately to get more of his cock in there.

He buried more of his penis in me, I whimpered, which made him press his finger to my lips in a shushing motion. "Don't make a sound unless I tell you to. I am your master, and you are my bitch, do you understand? If you misbehave, I will punish you." He warned. I nodded, and he continued with his descent into me.

I couldn't help myself. I moaned loudly and wrapped my legs around his torso, letting the man have his way with me. He growled, and snatched my hair, pulling it as hard as he could. Tears welled in my eyes, but I didn't feel sorrow. If anything, I felt aroused by the mistreatment.

He thrusted in and out of my pussy, growling whenever I moaned. I couldn't resist, and I ended up screaming his name again. He grabbed my throat, increasing the pressure every so slightly with each thrust. "You're being very naughty, Artemis. I think I'm going to have to punish you." He said seductively. I moaned, struggling to breathe.

"Forgive me master, I have been such a naughty girl. I promise I won't disobey you again." I had to admit, I was really getting into this. He grinned a wolf's grin, and increased his pace. "Good girl."

My arms rested above my head as he repeatedly thrust into my tight pussy, relishing in the moment. He groaned, and managed to say. "Artemis! I'm going to cum!"

I kept moaning though. "Yes Percy! Cum in me baby, cum in me. Give me your seed. I will bear you a child to aid you in your quests. Fuck me hard and defile my pussy with your cum!" I screamed, on the verge of orgasming.

With one last powerful thrust, we came together, and I moaned as I felt his hot sperm enter my pussy. Percy got off and lay down beside me, panting heavily. "That. Was. Amazing." I managed to say, and he nodded, looking over at me with a grin. I smiled. "You're so sexy when you're dominant." I told him, to which he flashed me one of his signature grins.

I scooted over and we embraced each other, falling asleep in one another's arms.

**Okay, well that was the first lemon I've ever written sooo. Tell me what you think, I guess. Percy and Artemis are engaged now, so there's that. I'm surprised I actually got a chapter out in less than a week. Also surprised we're onto chapter 10 now. See you guys next time. Please review and tell me what you think.**

**Word count: 4783**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Calm Before The Storm

**Okay, so now Percy and Artemis are engaged, they did the freaky deaky and war is coming. That basically sums up last chapter. The good thing about this story is that I've come up with a lot of good ideas for it, though most of them come later in the story.**

Chapter 10: The Calm Before The Storm

_Percy's P.O.V._

My eyes adjusted to the light peeking through the curtains, groaning as I woke from my peaceful sleep. I looked down towards my chest, and I was met with auburn hair resting on my torso. Along with that hair was, of course, my lover Artemis.

Lover.

Wait, is she naked?

I could feel the very distinct feeling of her… uh, privates pressing against mine, and I noticed her back was exposed, indicating she had no shirt on. Uh oh. Why was she naked? Did we… did we do _it_?

We _did _get really drunk last night, and I mean _really _drunk. I doubt either of us have ever gotten that drunk in our lives. Anything could've happened after the contests with Dionysus.

Oh gods, what would Artemis think. What would my mom think? What would Hestia think? The last two had taught me not to take advantage of women, and now here I was, laying in bed with the hungover virgin goddess. No doubt I'd talked her into it.

She'd probably freak out, accuse me of raping her or something. She'd probably even call off the engagement. Oh gods, what have I done? My eyes widened when I felt the form laying on me start to shift a little. Her head was turned to the side, so I couldn't see her expression, but I heard her breathing halt and felt her stiffen.

I wondered for a second if she was dead, but knew that wasn't it. She'd woken, and probably felt my morning wood brushing against her leg. I was just waiting for her to start freaking out.

She tilted her head up to look at me, a confused expression on her face. She looked all over me, as if searching for answers on my collarbone or arms. "Percy… what happened last night?" She asked. She didn't sound angry, just confused, and slightly worried.

I blushed, and averted my eyes from her own. "I think we have the same idea of what happened." I told her. I wasn't going to try and hide it, I'd be dead in a few minutes anyway. She didn't respond, her mouth opening and closing like she was going to say something, but couldn't find the words.

A tear leaked out of her eyes, but she wiped it away before it could make it more than an inch. She steeled her gaze, looking me in the eyes as we both sat up. I averted my eyes from her naked form in front of me, keeping it on her face.

"What do you remember?" She said, and I shrugged, nervous. "Not much. Parts of _it_, but I pretty much blacked out after the contest with Dionysus." I answered honestly, and she nodded. Artemis lay back down, sighing. "Well, I can't really blame you. It could have been me who pressured you into it. What matters is that it happened, I just wish I would've been sober when it happened."

I nodded, feeling the same, and lay down next to her. Once Styx revealed that Artemis had broken her oath, we'd have a lot of explaining to do. Perhaps I could use that favor Styx owed me to prevent Artemis' punishment.

We lay there, naked under the covers, trying to remember the events of last night, when we were both jumpscared by the door to our bedroom flying open. Ariel strolled in, followed by the other twenty-something members of the hunt, plus Apollo, Hermes and Athena.

We both pulled up the covers to shield ourselves at the speed of light, blushing furiously as the group gathered in our room and did something unexpected. They began singing. Apollo strummed a lyre, and everyone sung in chorus.

"Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to Artemis, Happy birthday to you!" They all sung, though Apollo sung it with an 'us' instead of 'you'. Artemis looked horrified, unable to say anything as they sang, and remained silent when they finished.

I looked over at her, breaking the silence. "It's your birthday?" Now I remembered. I'd gotten her a present a few weeks ago, and the alcohol from last night had made me forget about her birthday until now. My reflex was to go run and get it, but I decided that was a bad idea considering what state I was in.

Artemis still looked mortified, and it was then that everyone in the room noticed the position we were in. I was in the bed, and she was pulling the covers really close up to her neck. Everyone had noticed, except, of course, Apollo.

He smirked, thinking she was still half-asleep. "Wakey, wakey, sleepy head! It's our birthday today! How old are we again? I don't know, I lost count." He said, grabbing at Artemis blanket and yanking it.

She didn't budge, and he tried again and again. I cleared my throat. "Hey Apollo, I don't think that's a good idea, man." I told him, and he rolled his eyes. "What? I'm just trying to give my baby sister a wakeup hug." He reasoned. Artemis was still frozen solid.

He then seemed to slowly realise what was going on as he looked at my shirtless body and Artemis' suspiciously high covers. The hunters and other two gods were still too stunned to speak, much like Artemis. His mouth gaped, and he backed up in shock.

Artemis' face was redder than a tomato as she stared at her brother in shame. He sputtered. "D-d-did you g-guys…?" He left the sentence hanging, but we got the idea, and the two of us nodded slowly, embarrassed. Apollo put a hand on his forehead, as if checking his own temperature.

We couldn't explain anything to him as he ran out of the room to gods-know-where, ignoring our shouts for him to come back. Artemis sighed, and Hermes went to find Apollo, leaving the stunned Hunters and a glaring Athena in front of us. She wasn't glaring at Artemis, instead it was directed towards me.

She pointed a finger at me. "Watch yourself, sea-spawn." She said, reminding me of literally every monster I'd ever faced in my life. She followed Hermes out of the room, leaving us with the Hunters. Artemis was still unable to speak, so I cleared my throat, gesturing to the door. "Girls, could you let us get dressed?"

They filed out the door, and I got up and grabbed my clothes that were strewn on the floor. Artemis sat up in bed, her head in her hands. "What have I done?" She muttered to herself. I frowned, and walked over, embracing my fiance. "It's okay, Artemis. It'll be okay." I comforted her.

She shook her head. "No, it won't. I thought I would be more prepared for this. What about the hunt, Percy? They could be disbanded." I rubbed her back comfortingly. "I'll talk with Zeus. I'm sure we can work something out, Moonbeam." I reasoned, and she calmed down, kissing me softly on the lips. "Thank you, Percy."

She finished getting changed, and went downstairs, where we found the Hunters sitting at the dining table expectantly, dead silent. I decided that it would be best if Artemis had this talk on her own, so I left them be.

Exiting the palace, I briefly wondered what I would do. I stroked the ring on my finger with my thumb, the one that contained the sword which Hephaestus had forged for me months ago.

I considered training, but decided not to. I didn't really feel like it today -I know how lazy that sounds. I decided I would catch up with friends, so I flashed to Jason and Piper's place

I appeared in the living room, scaring the bejesus out of him. He fell back, making his infant son giggle as his father frowned at me. "Hades, Percy! You could have at least warned me you were coming." He complained, making me roll my eyes.

I walked over and picked up the child, swinging him around in my arms with a grin on my face. "How's my favourite godson doing? You giving your dad trouble?" The infant giggled, clapping his hands as I let him down next to Jason. He was less than a year old, still crawling around and playing with his father.

Piper entered the room, smiling at me. "Hey Percy, I didn't know you were coming by." She greeted, and I got up and hugged her, greeting her back. "Yeah, some things happened at home and I thought I might catch up with you guys. Sorry if I'm interrupting something."

Jason stood up. "Of course not, Percy. We had nothing planned today, anyway." he reassured me. I nodded and flopped down on the couch, picking up my godson. The boy immediately went to tugging at my hair, and I smiled, letting him do so. Jason stood up, stretching. "Finally. Being a dad is so hard." He complained.

I rolled my eyes. "Try leading an army of pubescent teenagers with weapons and superpowers. Those guys do not listen." Piper smirked, and Jason rolled his eyes too. I played with my godson as Jason and Piper sat down on the couch opposite me, Piper snuggling into her boyfriend. When are they gonna get married?

"So, what happened at home to drive you here?" Piper asked. I blushed, wondering how I would explain it to them. "W-well, uh… Let's just say that… Artemis and I got… caught. Yeah." I said, but they got the message. Piper's eyes widened substantially, and Jason's face turned bright red.

"Oh." Piper said, trying to comprehend that information. I laughed, and Jason immediately changed the subject from… that. "So, Percy, how's the war effort going?" He asked, suddenly sounding very mature, whereas a few seconds ago he was blushing because I almost said mentioned sex.

I shrugged, grinning my classic grin. "Honestly, Airhead, I have no idea what I'm doing. You're clearly more fit for this job, I mean, you were a Roman praetor." I said, and Jason shook his head. "Heck no! I'm not doing that. Besides, you were also a Roman praetor." he contradicted.

I laughed, actually finding that funny. "I've got many titles, Jace. Former praetor of the 12th Legion, Former Head Councillor of the Poseidon Cabin, 15th Olympian god, Saviour of Olympus, Supreme Lord of the Bathroom, etc. I can tell you now, sparky, that the only title in that list that I held for more than a day, didn't obtain by default, falsely get given all the credit for, and actually like having is Supreme Lord of the Bathroom. That is an honor I want to go down in history for, the rest I don't really care for." I explained.

Piper giggled, and Jason rolled his eyes. Suddenly, his face hardened. "But seriously, how is it? Do we know when Erebus will attack us or vice-versa? I'd like to get a bit of a moment's notice." He asked, and I shrugged. "From what I've gathered from my 'advisors', AKA the people who do the work for me, we should be the ones attacking Erebus, since he isn't doing much, meaning he might not be ready for an attack."

Jason nodded. "Battle plan?" He asked, and once again, I shrugged. "We'll figure it out closer to the time." I reassured my friend, who nodded. Piper was playing with her son, making the infant giggle, every time she picked him up.

We sat in the living room of their home on Olympus for a while longer, catching up and reminiscing about the old days. Man, I feel old. I'm 21 years old, I shouldn't feel this way.

Of course, our fun had to be ruined by an Olympus, as a bright flash engulfed the room. When the light subsided, we looked over and saw Hermes standing there, grinning at the three of us, "Hey guys, how's it going?" He greeted, as cheerful as ever.

I rolled my eyes, knowing where this was going. "What is it, Hermes?" I asked, wanting to get to the point. He sighed. "All right, hold your horses. Percy, Zeus and Athena have called an Olympian meeting, get your butt down there. Oh, Jason and Piper, you guys might wanna come, too." He said, and they nodded, standing up.

Piper quickly got the baby's clothes on, and together we flashed into the throne room of Olympus, even though it was like a five-minute walk away. I sat on my throne, and Jason and Piper decided they'd sit on the steps leading up to mine, Piper gently rocking the baby to sleep.

Gradually, the room began to fill with more and more people, until all the Olympians were in the thrones and many minor gods were in attendance, as well as the Hunters of Artemis. They smiled at me, so I take it there were no hard feelings between us. I looked up at Artemis just to make sure, and she also smiled at me.

Apollo noticed, and gave me that classic brother look. 'I don't like it, but I'll let you guys date', that kind of look. Well, I guess we weren't technically dating, since we were engaged, but whatever.

Zeus quieted everyone down, and addressed the throne room. "Everyone, Athena and I have been discussing recently, and we have decided to set the date for the invasion of Erebus' fortress to tomorrow." Immediately everyone in the throne room began to protest.

He silenced them with a clap of thunder. "There will be no objections to this. Tonight and tomorrow morning will give you all enough time to prepare. We didn't want to give Erebus too much time to prepare as well, since we are almost certain there is a spy in our ranks, so he'll likely know we're coming." Zeus said.

I looked worriedly at everyone in the room. Of course, only Ares was happy about this news, as he'd been talking about testing out his axe for months now. Pretty much everyone else looked either scared or upset about the news. Artemis looked at me, her smile gone. I smiled and reassured her, though inside I was just as afraid as her.

The rest of the meeting was spent talking about the upcoming battle. "Perseus!" Zeus said, jolting me out of my thoughts. I looked at him, indicating that he had my attention. "What is your plan for the battle?"

I gaped, shocked that he put me on the spot, and shrugged. He glared at me. "What do you mean, I put you as general for a reason, Perseus!" He scolded, making me glare. "Well what do you expect me to do when I didn't even know there was a battle!?"

We went back and forth like this, arguing constantly, and of course it was Hestia who broke the fight up. She glared at Zeus, as did Dad. "Don't get mad at Percy for your 'tactical thinking' Zeus. You've dropped a heavy load on us, don't be surprised if we turn up unprepared." She said, making her little brother quiet down.

Nothing else really happened, and Zeus dismissed us all. Athena reassured me that she would come up with a sufficient battle plan, since I was clearly incapable. Thanks for covering for me, Athena.

The Hunters were dropped off at Camp to prepare, and Artemis and I returned to her palace. We went into the living room, and Artemis flopped back on the couch, me following suit. She snuggled into me, sighing. "I thought we'd have more time." She said.

I nodded. "So did I. Despite what I said that night about it being the last night of our lives, I thought we'd at least have time to get married." I admitted, and she suddenly turned around so she was straddling me. "Then why don't we?" She said.

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" I asked. She grabbed my hands, looking at me excitedly. "Why don't we just get married, right here right now. We can do all the things that make us married, and then if we make it back alive, we can have the ceremony and everything like that." She suggested.

I thought it over. "Well, it would be nice to go down knowing that we were truly together. Okay, but how?" I asked. She took off her ring, and then mine, and placed them on the armrest of the couch. She turned back to face me, and looked deep in to my eyes.

"Our vows first. Perseus Achilles Jackson, I, Phoebe Artemis promise to eternally love and cherish you forever with the best I can possibly give. I promise never to stray from your arms, and to only love you and any form you take. I promise to bear your children, should you want any, and to be a caring and loving mother to said children. I promise that through life, death, and everything in between, I will be yours, now and forever." She said, and I smiled.

I rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb, reciting my vows, which were similar to hers. "Phoebe Artemis, I, Perseus Achilles Jackson promise to eternally love and care for you forever with every fibre of my being. I promise never to love another woman, and no matter what form I may take, I will always love you. I promise to sire any children you may want, and should you fall pregnant, to stay and care for you and our child. I promise that through life, death, and everything in between, I will be yours, now and forever." I recited, and she looked at me with tears in her eyes.

I looked over to the side. "The rings." I said, grabbing hers, while she grabbed mine. We placed them on one another's fingers, smiling and linking hands once more. "Well, by the power invested in me, by me, I pronounce us Man and Wife. I may now kiss the bride." I said.

I didn't follow through with that, as she was the one who pulled my head towards hers and locked our lips. The moon shone through the window to our left, illuminating her skin. We continued our heated love making session, giving ourselves a night to remember, together forever.

**Wow, I'm glad I got that done. I got bored halfway through this chapter, this was gonna be a boring one. That was until I decided to add that at the end. Also, I have a question that I need answers for, because if I go yes, it would seriously change the story, for better or worse. Due to the sex they had at the end of the last chapter, should I make Artemis pregnant? Choose wisely.**

**Word count: 3198**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: A Hero's Greatest Feat

**We're up to this chapter, the big battle. I got asked by an anonymous person if there'd be anymore lemons in this story. There will be, but not for a few chapters. I couldn't fit one at the end of the last chapter, so I had to leave it off there. Just a fair warning, I'm not very good at writing action. The best I did was probably a battle chapter I wrote almost a year ago, back when I hadn't discovered Pertemis.**

Chapter 11: A Hero's Greatest Feat

_Percy's P.O.V._

I sat on my good friend and pegasi, Blackjack, looking out over the barren fields. I thought back to the dream I'd had not too long ago, with the shadowy figure with the gold eyes. Even though it appeared to be the same place, it wasn't the same scene. There was no corpse, Artemis wasn't crying, and there wasn't a teenager with a bloody sword.

Hopefully it was just a dream.

I was surrounded by demigods dressed head to toe in armor, their weapons of choice by their sides. The Romans were near the front, in their phalanx formation, while the Hunters of Artemis remained in the back. The Greeks mostly stayed in the middle, though some like the archers had joined the Hunters where they'd be better suited.

The gods were there as well. After the Giant War, ancient laws on what gods could/couldn't interfere with became pretty lax, and now they were basically allowed to come and fight with their children. An unnecessary change, but a much needed one.

All of them were kitted out in their best armor, their most powerful weapons at their sides. Not all the Olympians were there, of course. Ones who couldn't fight like Hera, Hestia and Aphrodite stayed behind at Olympus, just in case someone decided to occupy while the others were away.

I looked over at Artemis and smiled, receiving a nervous one in return. She stood next to me, or to Blackjack rather. She reached up and held my hand, the height difference making her look like a little girl holding her father's hand. I smiled, this could very well be our last moments together.

My sword was in my other hand, radiating with raw energy. Artemis gripped her bow tightly, Athena and Ares' grips were more lax on their weapons. This would be our first time using these weapons in real combat -Ares had been prohibited from decapitating everything in sight with his axe- and we still weren't sure what level of damage could occur.

The army we had amassed, consisting of Olympians, minor gods, demigods, and other violent creatures, all stood prepared and waiting at the gates of Erebus' kingdom. The gates were shut, but I knew that at any moment the gates would open and Erebus' forces would spill out.

There was no point trying to sneak it, we had an army, nor was there any point trying to storm the walls. They'd be too tough, and Erebus was likely to face us head on anyway. If he himself didn't show up, then we'd just fight through the open gates to get to him.

We remained there in waiting for perhaps another few minutes, when finally it happened. The massive gates started to creak and swing open slowly. We tensed, and Artemis let go of my hand, reaching for an arrow. The gates opened, and we could see just what we were facing.

Thousands upon thousands of monsters, all armed to the teeth with razor sharp blades and axes, looking especially hungry. I held my confident gaze, but inside I was shivering. _There's little chance that we make it out of this alive._ Artemis spoke to me mentally. I nodded. _But we'll take it._

I turned Blackjack, the soldiers making a path for me to walk down. One part of being a general, giving the encouraging speech. Unfortunately, I suck at them.

"I know that to most of you, this looks like a suicide mission, and it quite possibly is. There's thousands of them out there and like, a hundred of us. Our odds don't look too good, even I'll admit that. But that does not mean that we'll lose." I shouted, making sure they could all hear me over the loud footsteps of the oncoming army.

"Many believe that a heroes greatest feat is not obtained through victory, but through death. Our friends, family, loved ones, all have given their last trying to fight the enemies of Olympus. I say it's time we give ours." I shouted, earning a battle cheer from the army.

I turned to the oncoming army, and raised my sword, prompting everyone else to do the same with their weapons. "Show them no mercy, they would not do the same for you. Show them only death. To Olympus!" I yelled, kicking Blackjack into action, and charging down the hill to meet the army head-on.

The demigods roared, and followed my lead. I slowed down, letting the Romans in front, spears and shields out in front of them. I held my hand out, ordering the Greeks and Gods to slow as well. They looked unsure, questioning why I would give such an order. Athena was the only one who knew what was happening, as she'd helped me devise this plan after I basically discarded most of hers.

The Romans charged the monsters, letting out their battle cry. Just before the reached the army, they slowed to a halt, forming a phalanx position. The monsters, seeing that it was just them, roared, and collided with the shields at full force. Still, none of the Romans faltered, and when Reyna gave the command, they thrusted out with their spears, taking out the first and most of the second wave of monsters.

I waited a few more seconds so that pretty much the entire army had stopped charging, and was trying to break the Roman defense. Once they'd done that, I pointed forward, ordering another charge. Now the Greeks and gods knew what I was doing, and charged the monsters. The gods who were fighting up front leaped over the Romans, getting the jump on the monsters trying to break through.

Using their powers, they eradicated many, and were soon backed up by the Greeks who the Romans made room for to pass through. I signalled for the archers to start firing from on top of the hill, and to aim for the parts that had no allies, so there was no need to aim.

With a quick pat, Blackjack charged, jumping over the Romans much like the gods did. The Romans continued to kill any monsters that got close, though most were being held back by the others. I roared, swing my two swords at my sides, killing every monster who came close.

When the Greeks and gods had started fighting near the center of the army, I turned and signalled towards the Romans. WIth a loud yell, the legion got up and charged forward, impaling any monsters in their way. The Gods pushed through further, and the Romans discarded the phalanx formation, because now any monsters that got through could be picked off by the Hunters and Apollo campers before they crossed the field to them.

The gods were taking out dozens at a time using their powers, while the demigods fought the tough ones together. Zeus jumped high into the air and summoned two lightning bolts, smashing them into the ground when he landed and causing an electric shockwave.

I noticed Ares was having the time of his life with his new axe, while Athena was careful picking off targets with her spear. I heard a roar behind me, and spun around to see a particularly large cyclops right before it got a silver arrow to the head, making the thing's skull explode. I looked up towards the archers, seeing Artemis give a thumbs up.

There was the sound of a horn, and I looked to see the large gates slowly closing. I observed the battlefield. There were thousands of monsters still left, but the Demigods and minor gods could handle that. I raised my sword. "Olympians! To the Fortress!" I yelled. Most of them nodded, and started heading for the gates. I then noticed that Artemis and Apollo were too far back to make it.

I spurred Blackjack, and he rushed towards the two gods. We crossed the field in no time, and with surprising grace and skill, Artemis swung onto Blackjack's back as I swerved in front of them. Apollo noticed that there wasn't enough space for him on the back, and looked up at me in confusion. I nodded. "Hold on."

He gripped Blackjack tight as the pegasi suddenly turned and ran, being pulled with us towards the gate. He held on for dear life as I encouraged Blackjack into going faster, Artemis tightening her grip around my waist. The gate was almost closed, and trying to fly him over would get him shot.

With a wide leap, Blackjack squeezed through the gate, moments before they clanged shut and locked with a loud metallic sound. It was suddenly quiet, the sound of battle unable to be heard inside the walls. I dismounted Blackjack, and told him to stay put. The gods caught their breath, looking around.

It was quiet, quiet and dark. We were in what I assume to be Erebus' courtyard, if we were outside. It was hard to tell, considering no roof was visible. Only darkness. There were two large dark doors, similar to the gates, in front of us, shut tight. Zeus walked up and tugged on the handle, attempting to open it.

They weren't locked, surprisingly, and the door swung open with a loud creak. We looked at each other worriedly, before we carefully made our way inside. It was dark, again no roof was visible. I could barely make out four walls, the flooring and a throne.

On that throne sat a man, an entity of shadow, a being of darkness. The primordial god of darkness, Erebus.

He grinned at us. "Only 11? How disappointing, I thought you'd bring an army." He said, and I could immediately tell that this guy was pure evil, just by his voice. It was gravelly, as if he was talking through a robotic mask, but I could see his face clearly. He resembled his brother, Tartarus, but his skin was a dark grey, and he wore all black robes.

Basically we were facing grey Voldemort with a nose.

Zeus summoned his master bolt, his eyes radiating with electricity. "Surrender, Erebus. You cannot defeat us all." He challenged, only making the Dark Lord laugh. "Really Zeus? A petty threat. How can you hope to beat me, when I know all your weaknesses?" He said.

Hades' eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?" Erebus chuckled, examining his fingers. "My spy is very observant, very smart. Just with a year of watching you all, she managed to deduct how to beat each and every one of you. Then, since she knows she can't do it herself, she told me." He boasted.

I tilted my head. "And who exactly is your spy? I completely forgot about that." I said, making all the Olympians look at me with pissed-off faces. I shrugged. "What? I had other things to do."

Erebus cackled. "I see no benefit in telling you, so I won't. I'll let you die knowing you were betrayed, and let it tear you apart knowing it could have been the person you loved the most." He said. Artemis' eye looked pointedly in my direction. I shook my head, telling her it wasn't me. She looked unsure for a second, but her gaze softened as her gaze moved down to my hand, where an unnoticed wedding ring sat.

Erebus smirked. "Now then, I don't see why we should delay this any longer." He said. The Dark Lord stood from his chair, noticeably a head or two taller than most of us. He outstretched his arms, and two shadowy blades materialised in his hands. The rest of us readied our weapons, Apollo and Artemis already aiming arrows at the Primordial.

He studied us all slowly, and within a second, he was gone. I felt his presence appear behind us, and whirled around. Before I could even comprehend what was happening, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Apollo and Hermes were all flung into the door, landing unconscious outside.

Ares was the first one to strike, swinging his axe and intending to decapitate Erebus. The god dodged, however, and sliced Ares' back. The god groaned, and went for the kill again. That was his mistake. Erebus parried his strike and slashed, hitting Ares' stomach. He kicked Ares in the gut, sending him into the wall.

This enraged Zeus, who started rapidly firing his lightning bolts. Erebus laughed, running around the room and dodging every bolt he threw. This only improved Zeus' ire, and his beard grew larger with the electricity as he started hovering in the air.

Artemis also started firing shots at Erebus, but none of them landed. He seemed to be everywhere at once. Even I tried to get him, but I couldn't keep my eyes on him for more than a few seconds before it got blurry.

Zeus also seemed to be getting dizzy, as he was swaying around and his shots weren't very accurate. Erebus laughed, running circles around the king of the gods. Athena stuck out her spear, and with a loud oof, Erebus fell to the floor. He sat up, glaring at the goddess, and then smirked when he looked behind her.

The Dark Lord teleported in front of her, waving his arms around. Before Athena could do anything, Zeus launched a bolt, realising his mistake when Erebus ran off to the side. Athena was frozen in fear, looking at the oncoming bolt.

Our eyes widened, and in a blur it was all over. I noticed right before the bolt impacted, a figure running towards her. When the smoke cleared up, Poseidon and Athena were both unconscious in the corner. Dad had jumped in front of the bolt to take most of the damage. I could tell they were both alive, but they wouldn't be back in this fight for a while.

Erebus stood by his throne laughing his ass off, while Zeus, Artemis and I looked horrified. Zeus had fury in his eyes as he turned to Erebus. "I WILL DESTROY YOU!" He roared. Erebus twirled his sword in his hand. "I'd like to see you tr-" He stumbled on his words, reaching up to feel his forehead.

He stumbled forward, dazed, and a smirking Hades appeared behind him, holding his helmet in his hands. Erebus glared, turning around to strike the god, but he was thrown across the room by one of Zeus' bolts.

Now it was just Zeus, Hades, Artemis and I left standing, and as the smoke surrounded the area where Erebus had been, we looked at each other nervously. Ares, Dad and Athena were still unconscious, and we wondered if that was it. Hades and Artemis nodded at each other, and as Artemis trained an arrow on the spot where Erebus disappeared into, Hades went to find him.

We stood with bated breath as Hades vanished in the darkness and dust. Zeus had descended to the ground now, watching anticipatedly. Without warning, Hades was flown from the darkness, outside with his brother and niece. Artemis' head snapped to the darkness, but a broken stone pillar flew out and hit her, sending her out as well.

Both Zeus and I turned back, enraged, as Erebus walked out of the darkness, now thoroughly pissed off. He gripped his sword tightly, and I noticed it was radiating black wisps, like a fog machine. He scowled. "Fine then, have it your way."

With the speed of a jet, Erebus flew through the air, catching Zeus off guard. With a massive spartan-kick, he sent Zeus into the roof, and the god fell to the floor unconscious.

Erebus turned to me, grinning like a madman. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the newbie. Perseus. I'm sure we've all heard of the heroic deeds you've done, but then again, we've also heard of his heroic deeds." He laughed, nodding to Zeus. The king of the gods groaned.

My eyes darted to Artemis, whose body twitched in what I assumed to be pain. I scowled, turning back to Erebus as my sword glowed even more furiously than before. "I'm going to kick your ass."

He smirked, but his humor immediately subsided, and he slashed at me viciously. I dodged, and went to strike at him as well. He blocked it with his sword, and threw my sword off his aggressively.

Sweat started to drip from my forehead, and I swung round again with both swords this time. He blocked the more dangerous one, but Riptide caught him in the thigh, and he hissed in pain. Now I'd made him angry.

His attacks became much more frequent and violent, and I looked nervously from side to side. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that some of the gods that were previously out cold were moving slightly. _I just have to hold him off for a bit longer._ I thought to myself. I didn't think I'd be able to beat him on my own.

My thoughts were cut short by Erebus' blade slicing my side. I gasped in pain. Gods, that stung. It hurt more than almost any other wound I'd ever received, aside from the Styx, of course. I felt the colour drain from my face, but I continued fighting.

We continued like this for a while, moving back and forth in a rhythm of fighting. I blocked Erebus' strike with my swords, and with a great heave, I pushed him off of me. I looked over, and a few of the gods were standing up, finding their weapons. I continued to fight Erebus, and looked over at Artemis, smiling at her.

My goddess' face turned from one of reassuring happiness to horror as I felt a sharp pain enter my abdomen. My smile faded too, and I didn't even bother looking down, for I knew what had happened. I'd let my guard down, and he'd gotten me.

I turned my head to Erebus, and found him grinning. I felt my face turn pale as he gripped the back of my head and sunk the blackened blade deeper. I couldn't hear much, though I did notice there was a commotion in the background, which I'm guessing was the gods.

My fingers twitched, as I felt every nerve in my arm skyrocket, and suddenly Erebus was no longer smiling. Now I could look down, and I was shocked beyond belief to see that my blade had embedded itself in his upper chest, right where his heart would be.

His death was swift and anti-climactic, as with one final gasp of breath, the primordial faded away. A change was instantly felt, as it suddenly became silent, aside from a noticeable crack forming on the wall.

Now that I had nothing to lean onto, I stumbled back, the blade having disappeared from my gut. I heard rampant footsteps, and suddenly Artemis and Dad were by my side. I fell into the wall, and slid down onto the ground. As I looked over at the both of them, my heart cracked like the wall behind me.

The two of them were crying.

Dad was quietly muttering to himself, and I could see that with every word, his mouth formed an 'O' shape, which I took as him saying no repeatedly. Artemis gasped, running her hand delicately and shakily over my wound, instantly soaking it in golden ichor.

Tears streamed down her face, and she closed her eyes, trying so hard to get the words out and keep in the tears at the same time. "No… no… no Percy, not now. Not now." She sobbed, keeping her hand on my bleeding wound.

The other gods had arrived by now, stunned into silence. I breathed in and out slowly, smiling as best I could. I grabbed her hand tenderly, wondering why I couldn't get more time. If only I had more time, that's all I need. "To think, an eternity together cut down to less than a day." I said, stroking the shining ring on her finger.

Athena gasped, and as Zeus, Poseidon, Hades and Ares looked at her curiously, she whispered with tears in her eyes. "They're married." The other's gasped, just now noticing the rings on our fingers.

I looked into Artemis' tear-blurred eyes and smiled, she tried her best to smile back. "I wanted forever with you. Why do you have to go now?" She asked, unable to contain the sobs. I shrugged, hardly able to with the amount of energy I was losing. "If I could stay for you, Moonbeam, I wouldn't mind doing so. I wouldn't mind." I reassured her.

She leaned her head on my shoulder, sobbing quietly. The other gods remained silent as I reached up my arms to hug her, revelling in her scent as I held her close.

Our moment was ruined by the crack behind me growing larger, and I let go of her. "Go on, Moonbeam. You have to go now." I told her. Artemis clutched at me tighter. "No. I'm not leaving you, Percy." She said, refusing to move. I shook her. "Come on, you've got to go." Still, she didn't budge.

I nodded at Zeus and Hades, and they moved to grab her. She struggled and screamed, and so to calm her I reached up and stroked her face. With the little amount of energy I had left in me, I planted a kiss on her forehead, one that both of us would remember for all eternity.

Then I let her go.

My friends left, most giving me a farewell nod, while all Dad could seem to say was "Goodbye, son." I nodded, and the six of them left through the front gates, as I felt the foundations of the Erebus' castle groaned and crack under stress.

So this is it? Three wars, countless battles, dozens of friends lost in the mix of it all, and this is how I go? A somber farewell to my loved ones, and now I wait for me to finally let go. I let her go, and now it was my turn. I closed my eyes, my breath slowing with every passing second. As I faded away my last thoughts were of my friends, my family, my goddess. I reminisced of what happened, thought about what will happen, and wondered what could've happened.

I thought about this until it finally happened. The ichor stopped bleeding, my breath stopped flowing, and my eyes stopped glowing.

Then the walls finally crumbled, all the while I thought of her.

**Well, that was a bit depressing to write. I hoped you guys liked it. Please review what you thought of it. I'm a bit of a review whore, and a positive review always makes my day. I'm not closed off to criticism though, so if you have any, do tell. Anyways, I should go to bed now, so goodnight.**

**Word Count: 3907**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Heroes Get Remembered

**Hi. I'm writing this chapter a day after posting the other one. We're at 40k words already, will probably be 43k when this chapter comes out. It's really hard to believe that I've actually stuck to this story. The most words I've got from a story in the past was 19,999. Yeah, I know. My OCD went up in flames as well. Well then, let's get into this chapter.**

Chapter 12: Heroes Get Remembered

_Poseidon's P.O.V._

So he's gone. That's it? My boy is gone, just like that. My beard bristled with grey hairs as I gripped my trident with shaky hands. The room was silent, as the gods sat on their thrones not saying a word.

The world was in mourning. We won the war, but at what cost? My son saved the world for the third time, but it finally caught up with him. What was there to do?

I shed a tear, and looked down at my lap. Memories poured through my mind of all the times I'd been the most proud of him. When he completed his first quest and prevented a war. When he'd fought a titan, rescued a goddess, and survived to tell the tale. When he'd led the demigods into battle during the Second Titan War. When he single-handedly defeated my father and saved Olympus.

I looked back on when we'd fought together side by side against Gaea and her giants. I remembered how proud I was to see him become a god, and be crowned an Olympian. I followed him into battle, proud to fight by my favourite son's side. If only I knew what I'd see not too long after.

He was the only child of mine to ever make anything out of himself. Even Triton just spends his days flirting with the naiads and starting fights in Atlantis. Why did it have to be Percy?

Zeus broke the deafening silence in the room. "Are we ready?"

_Zeus P.O.V._

Of all the heroes, it just had to be him. There will never be someone as good as Perseus, I just don't think it's possible. Especially if it's a demigod. He was the greatest hero we could ever ask for, and now he was gone, and I didn't know what lay in store for us.

From this point on, Olympus would be without it's saviour, and we'd most likely fall back into the old days of paranoia, treachery and cruelty. He really was a shining star on Olympus. One that I know we'll never forget.

Enjoy Elysium, nephew.

-Zeus

_Hera P.O.V._

I never liked the boy, that was no secret, and I won't pretend I did just because he's gone. Still, it's hard to believe that he was the greatest hero we ever could've had, as much as I don't like that thought. I tested him multiple times, and each time he came out victorious. It's hard to forget that, but equally hard to remember.

He was annoying, stubborn, disrespectful, ill-mannered, and too sarcastic for my liking. But still, he was a hero, one we'll never get back.

Rest easy, you annoying brat

-Hera

_Demeter P.O.V._

Well, I never had much to do with the boy. By far the best of my brother's children, and he's come through for us more than a few times. No doubt that without him, we likely wouldn't still be here today, or at least not in the positions of power we currently have.

He'd always become so awkward when I reminded him to eat cereal, not that he needed to. He did well, that's all I can really say.

Thank you for the, what, 17th time?

-Demeter

_Ares P.O.V._

I hated him. I hated him with every bone in my body. Even with that, I have to congratulate him on the skill he had. I don't like to talk about it, but it's not exactly a secret, so I'll bring it up. He, a mere boy, bested me, the God of War, in a fight at age 12. I was having a bad day.

I admire his skill, bravery, and calmness about everything. I must admit, if I'd been put in his shoes, I would've gone mad and tried to destroy Olympus after the third of fourth year.

It was an honor to fight by your side, punk.

-Ares

_Athena P.O.V._

Alright, I may not have liked him, but I'll give him this. He was a hero, perhaps not a smart one, but a hero nonetheless. I remember how my daughter had been so head-over-heels in love with him, then my sister. I'll never see why. He was as daft a cabbage as they come.

Still, the pros have to outweigh the cons. When Olympus was being buried beneath the rubble and wrecks, he held onto us. He was the one who saved us, no matter what way you look at it. And I guess, from that point of view, it's not hard to see why my sister was so smitten with him.

Farewell, Jackson.

-Athena

_Apollo P.O.V._

I mean, how can you hate the guy? He defeated gods, titans, giants, primordials, all with nothing but his sword and maybe a little help. He fell into Tartarus for the girl he loved, or thought he loved anyways. He managed to charm my little older sister Artemis, a feat worthy of godhood on it's own.

He was cool, I like him. I know most people on the council didn't openly like him, but we all had a soft spot for the guy, there's no denying it. Just sad that I couldn't take him out so we could be each other's wingmen before he decided to like my sister. He would've gotten all the girls for me, though whether they would've preferred me or him is debatable. I can tell you're gonna be the subject of a lot of my songs from now on. You were a great guy, Perce.

See ya, cuz!

-Apollo

_Hephaestus P.O.V._

Probably one of the few demigods I truly respected. He always treated me and my children fairly, where others wouldn't. He honored my son, Charlie, so I think it's only fair I do the same.

We never had much in common, but I still have to admit the lad was good at heart. He always wanted nothing more than to help those he truly cared for, which was basically anyone who spoke to him and didn't want to tear him apart.

Wish you all the best, lad

-Hephaestus

_Aphrodite P.O.V._

This is the first time I've truly been sad about a death in a long time, not since that hotshot Helios faded. You were one hunk of a man, Percy. It's too bad my sister got to you before I could. I really wish you could've been mine, but hey, who am I to interfere with true love?

I wasn't in the room when it happened, but I knew when it happened, because the immense heartbreak that was felt throughout the room when they found you. A pity I didn't get to see you off

Au Revoir, Handsome

-Aphrodite

_Hermes P.O.V._

Seriously, of all people, why did it have to be him? We could've been such good friends, if only he decided to stick around longer. I remember watching him as a kid, as weird as that sound, running around with his friend and just… winning. There wasn't any thought to it, he just came, he saw, and he got out alive.

I guess that really sums Percy up, doesn't it? Well Percy, wish we could've gotten to know each other better.

Bye, Perce!

-Hermes

_Dionysus P.O.V._

As much as we hated each other, and I know he hated me, the feeling was mutual, we did have a lot in common. We were both charming, brave, legendary demigods who didn't care what was to come, just that we wanted to survive that day. We didn't worry for the future, just half-focused on the present.

Then suddenly, we're gods, and everything just seems to slow down. I remember the first time he walked into my camp, and I knew he wouldn't last a week. I was wrong, obviously, but even through all he did, that feeling never disappeared. I never had any doubt that he'd be dead by the next day, every day for about five years.

It wasn't until he became a god that I sat back and thought, 'Wow, the kid made it.'

Goodbye, a true legend among idiots

-Dionysus

_Hades P.O.V._

He was the worst that the demigod race had to offer. He was annoying, tone-deaf, way too lucky for his own good, and a complete idiot. But still, he was probably the best that the demigod race could ever provide.

A hero, that's what he was. He outshone me and my children, which was extremely frustrating, but he still saved us multiple times, so I guess I have to acknowledge that. He was probably the person whose come closest to achieving peace in our time, and he wasn't even big headed about it.

While yes, sometimes it was hard to differ between bravery and stupidity for that boy, he had some good qualities. I hate to admit it, but he doesn't get enough credit for all the credit he gave us. Truly the model of what demigods should be, not that anyone will ever be nearly as good as him, perhaps one of my children will come close.

Rest in Peace, young hero

-Hades

_Hestia P.O.V._

One of the only people to ever notice me sitting by the hearth on Olympus. I have so many words that I can use to express my respect, love and care for the boy. I loved him like he was my son. I won't tell all that I thought of him, however.

Just know that he was the most selfless, caring, respectful, funny, and powerful demigod that there ever was, and I doubt Olympus will ever forget you for all that you've done for us.

Sweet dreams, Percy

-Hestia

_Poseidon P.O.V._

My boy, I could never be more proud of you. I could never be more proud of anyone. You were the light of my life. When I met your mother, I couldn't resist. I didn't care that I would be breaking a sacred rule, it's not like I would be the first. I knew that a great good would come out of it. I was right.

When I first laid my eyes on you, my baby boy, I was entranced. I knew at that moment that you were everything that I wanted my children to be. Your little sister was born recently, Percy, my first daughter in centuries. Thank you Percy. If you hadn't stepped up and succeeded where we'd failed, she wouldn't get the chance of life that she has now.

I hope that my future children will be a glorious as you, but I know it's unlikely. You got most of it from your mother.

Goodnight, my boy.

-Poseidon

_Artemis P.O.V._

You're gone. You're really gone. I thought we'd have more time, no, I thought we'd have forever. But you're gone, and I'm all alone. Why now? Why you? So many questions race through my mind and I have no answers. We miss you, everyone misses you. I miss you. I miss the feeling of your arms wrapped around me in your sweet embrace.

I waited for 4000 years for the right person, and I finally found him. Then, just like that, he was gone. I contemplated joining you, but I knew you'd be disappointed in me. Plus, I found another thing to live for.

I still cry at the thought of what we had, what we should have, of what we could have. I miss you, every day. Every hour. Every minute. I miss you, Percy. I'm glad I found you, I'm glad we got to be together, Percy. Even if it was only for a short amount of time. Also, about that other thing to live for, we did it Percy. Your legacy will live on. I'm pregnant, Percy.

I'm pregnant with a child who's going to grow up without a father.

Well Percy, I guess this is it. I love you. I hope we will see each other again, perhaps not too soon. I know that the next time we meet, it will be only happiness and sadness. I happily await that day, but maybe it can wait a little bit longer, if you don't mind.

I love you, Percy

-Artemis

I finished scratching off my message onto the tomb, tears running freely down my face. He was gone, and I had to accept that. I placed a hand on my stomach, even more tears pouring out. This child would grow up without the love of a father. Thanks, Fates.

Athena helped me up, and we stood by the other's, looking at the large tomb. It was on Olympus, in a mausoleum built specifically for Percy. We never even got the body, it was too dangerous to go back into the remains of Erebus' fort to find it. The place had since become a haven for monsters and evil creatures.

I pained me knowing that my husband's corpse would lay there, rotting, for all eternity. There wasn't really anything else we could do other than make this memorial of him. Athena and Hephaestus were working on a statue of him that would be placed just outside the throne room, in the center of Olympus. A fitting tribute to the greatest hero we'd ever seen.

My eyes ran over all the messages scrawled out over the tomb. Mine was directly under the name, which read his name and titles in clear, engraved markings.

_Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson, Retriever of Zeus' Bolt, Survivor of the Sea of Monsters, Holder of the Sky, Love of Artemis, Navigator of the Labyrinth, Bane of the Titans, Slayer of Kronos, Ex-Praetor of the Twelfth Legion, Former Councillor of the Poseidon Cabin, Leader of Camp Half-Blood, Bane of the Giants, Slayer of Gaea, the 15th Olympian, First General of the Armies of Olympus, Bane of Monsters, Slayer of Erebus, Three-Time Saviour of Olympus, a Good Friend, Son and Husband_

Wow, he really did a lot. It's amazing that a mere demigod could accomplish so much. Of course he did, he was my demigods.

One by one, we all left the mausoleum, paying our final respects to Percy. When it was just me left, I wiped a tear and walked out. Before I left, I looked back, and blew one final kiss towards the tomb. I like to think he was there, watching, and that he caught it.

Once we were outside, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades all grabbed a large rock, and using their combined strength, lifting it into place in front of the door, sealing off the entry. I let one tear shed as I saw the light inside the room disappear, becoming encompassed in darkness.

Goodbye Percy. I love you.

_? P.O.V._

I sat by the large rectangle rock on my knees, a sharp rock in my hand. With my tongue poking out in frustration, I looked at all the words scribbled onto the rock and thought about mine.

What would I write? This was important, probably the only time I'll ever be able to do this, so I wanted to make it count. I thought about all the important people in my life, about how privileged I was, and started to scratch in my words on the tomb.

_Dear Percy_

_I've heard a lot about you. I heard you died in the war, protecting my family, and ensuring that people like me could be alive. I guess I should thank you for that, even though I don't remember it. Mom said I was too young to remember anything like that. As far as I can remember, it's been peaceful, and I like it that way._

_We have a few things in common, or so I hear. Mom's always talking about how I could be the next 'Percy Jackson', but I don't see that happening. I'm good at fighting, but sometimes I don't really understand things. Mom tried to teach me how to read and write, but I could only understand Greek. English is just too hard for me._

_I hope that wouldn't make you think any less of me. I try, I really do, but sometimes I just can't. Mom says you also used to do that, but I doubt it. From what I've heard, it seems strange that you'd be as silly as people say. I always imagined you like Hercules, strong, mean, and full of yourself. People say you weren't though, so that makes me happy._

_Most people say you didn't get your coolness from your dad, but from your mom. I never got to meet her. I don't think I will, though it would be nice. I don't even know who she is, where she is, or if she'd even know who I am._

_Mom was mad at you for a long time. Especially just before I was born, apparently. Apollo said she was just being silly. Apollo always makes me laugh, he's funny, like you. I see your statue when mom takes me to the market. You look nice, and like you could beat up a lot of guys. Mom always laughs when I say that._

_Some days Mom doesn't want to talk about you at all, she gets sad. Some days you're all she wants to talk about, and she seems happy. I like those days better, because she'll tell me about you. Everyone always talks about the things you did, but only she talks about who you were. She always talks about how you were too stupid for your own good, and now you're gone. I'm not mad, though. I am happy you did what you did, because otherwise I wouldn't be here, and Mom wouldn't either._

_Even though I've never met you, I feel like you've had a big impact on my life, and I'm glad. You saved us. Thank you. Thank you not only for that, but for giving my Mom someone to love. I love you too, Daddy. Maybe we'll see each other someday. Not now though, Mom would be sad._

_Love, _

_Your daughter._

I looked up towards the name of the tomb, and scratched in a slight correction.

"Honey? You done?" Mom called out to me from the entrance. I dropped the rock, and ran over to her, smiling. "Yep, thank you mommy!" I said, hugging her tightly. She laughed, her auburn hair covering part of her face. I saw her face saddened slightly as she looked over towards the tomb. I wasn't sad, I smiled at it.

Grandpa Zeus and Poseidon closed the door, along with Uncle Hades, making sure no one could get in. We walked away, my hand holding Mom and Grandpa Poseidon's. I smiled, think about how I finally met my dad, and all the things I'd ever wanted to say to him. I thought about what the tomb now said, and smiled as Mom suggested we go for ice cream.

_Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson, Retriever of Zeus' Bolt, Survivor of the Sea of Monsters, Holder of the Sky, Love of Artemis, Navigator of the Labyrinth, Bane of the Titans, Slayer of Kronos, Ex-Praetor of the Twelfth Legion, Former Councillor of the Poseidon Cabin, Leader of Camp Half-Blood, Bane of the Giants, Slayer of Gaea, the 15th Olympian, First General of the Armies of Olympus, Bane of Monsters, Slayer of Erebus, Three-Time Saviour of Olympus, a Good Friend, Son and Husband, and the Best Dad in the World._

**That was hard to write. That's really all I have to say about this chapter. What should Percy's (or rather Artemis' since Percy didn't get to name it) daughter be named? Leave your suggestions please. :)**

**Word Count: 3373**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Legends Never Die

**If I take a few things out of previous chapters, I can leave the story off there and call it a tragedy, but I like where this is going, and we're only a fraction of the way through the story. Thanks for all the positive feedback I got back from that last chapter. I got a particularly nice comment on Wattpad that made my day. Stay awesome.**

Chapter 13: Legends Never Die

_Percy P.O.V._

I looked out towards the door as my friends and family made their escape. Zeus ordered the retreat of the demigods, and as they fled over the hills from the enormous quake. The doorway collapsed, blocking my view of the outside world.

Just like that, they were gone, and as I rested my head against the wall, I saw the roof. I saw it rapidly move closer as it also collapsed, and then I was gone as well.

My fingers twitched, and my eyes were closed. It felt like sleep. Floating around, no feeling inside of me. I felt free, at peace. There was a slight feeling in my stomach, one of emptiness. It felt like grief, like a friend of mine died. I hope not, I don't have any reason to grieve myself.

Then my fingers twitched again, and my eyes shot open. It was like it felt, I was seemingly in an empty abyss. My mind flashed back to my fall into Tartarus, and I began to panic as I realised the feeling was very similar to the one I'd had on that rapid descent.

I started to struggle, but my torso, arms and legs wouldn't move, only my neck and head. Then, just as I started, I immediately ceased to struggle. Not like I was forced or anything, I just suddenly lost the will to move.

_Why do you struggle?_

The voice scared me. I didn't expect it and I couldn't even tell where it came from. It sort of came from… everywhere. I looked around, but still all I could see was darkness. I called out to it, but strangely found that my voice was inaudible.

_Do not fret, boy_

I heard the voice again, but this time I could tell where it was coming from: behind me. I spun around, the ability to move granted for another moment, before I was again immobilized.

A man stood there, no, not a man. A monster. The most horrifying thing I had ever seen. I cannot put it into words, just know that the second I laid eyes on him, all hope inside me evaporated, and I was left gawking.

He smirked, and his many snake legs slithered around beneath him. He approached me, and I flinched trying to escape this horrid beast. He grabbed my face, tightly, and yanked it so that I was facing him.

My eyes met his, and as they did, it felt like my soul was being sucked out from my body. He grinned, his foul breath reaching my nostrils, and I had to hold back a cringe. "Do you know who I am, boy?" He asked, the rage clearly audible from the bottom of his throat.

I shook my head, but it came out as more of a struggle, and he grabbed my neck, lifting me up into the air. His grip was stone cold, and I quickly felt my face turn blue as I grabbed his wrist and thrashed around. It was to no avail, and he hissed at me.\

"Don't struggle. It won't work. I am stronger than you could ever hope to be, don't try to deny me what's rightfully mine, _boy_." He spat the word boy as if it was the worst thing in the world, reminding me of my wife, Artemis.

I ceased my thrashing, and gasped out. "Who… who are you?" He grinned, showing his rotting, razor sharp teeth. His eyes flashed, and my heart sank as I realised they'd become golden, not unlike how mine had been flashing recently.

He laughed, the horrid sound echoing around the room as he did so. "I am everything you fear, Perseus. I am horror, I am terror, I am fear. I am the one who will lead you to victory, I will put you in power. I am the Olympus' worst nightmare, the only one they ever truly feared. I am you, Perseus. I am the father of monsters. I am Typhon." He said menacingly, his voice raspy with what I assumed to be anger.

I couldn't even get a reaction out before he slammed his hand on my forehead, and my world went white.

_Some Time Later_

My consciousness returned to me a short while later, and I winced as I felt pain literally all over my body. I couldn't see anything, but it wasn't like before where I could only see my body and…. Typhon. Even that name alone sent a shiver down my spine. But no, now it was just pitch black, and my body ached all over.

_Push_

My heart skipped a beat where I heard that voice, the same one that had been tormenting me what seemed like moments ago. I panicked, my pulse increasing rapidly. Where are you? I thought to myself, not even meaning to communicate with him.

_Were you not listening, Boy? I am you. You will never be rid of me. Now push._

As he said that, I felt a crushing pain overcome me, as if Frank, Jason, Chiron and Zeus were all dog-piled on top of me. A hard sight to imagine, but that's the first analogy I could come up with.

I had no choice but to comply, and summoning all the godly strength I had left, I pushed against the force, sweat brimming on my forehead. As I felt myself almost pass out from exhaustion, which would no doubt get me killed anyway from the force I was currently fending off, the weight disappeared, and light returned to my vision.

My eyes squinted, trying to adjust to the light, as I sat up on my elbow and put my arm over my eyes, trying to see. I heard shouting with I couldn't make out, and the weight pushing against my legs was gone, too. My vision almost fully returned to me, and what I saw almost made me gasp.

A tall, skinny -and I mean _really _skinny- figure stood overtop of, holding a torch and staring intently at me. It was pitch black, with no discernable face or features, and as I looked behind it, my eyes widened. Monsters of all varieties surrounded me, snarling at my barely conscious and crippled form.

More of those things were nearby, too, many on piles on rubble staring down at me. The one right in front of me made a disturbing crackling noise, reminding me vaguely of a slowed-down Perry the Platypus. I sat there, not moving a muscle, before it looked up towards the sky and screamed.

No, not screamed. It fucking screeched.

The sound was enough to make anyone's ears bleed, and soon the ones around us were mimicking the sound, and as my ears ached, I faintly heard even more in the distance. How many are there? The monsters also got excited, and began roaring and growling, making me wet myself even more.

As I waited to be torn apart by the horde, I heard a shrill whistling, making all the tall creatures cease their screeching. I heard a commotion, and suddenly I began to feel drowsy once more. I fell backwards, faintly seeing the sight of a woman wearing all black emerging from the crowd. As I faded in and out of reality, I felt my legs get grabbed by something, and I was dragged in the direction that the woman was walking.

_An hour later_

I woke up, the memories of what happened immediately flooding through my mind. I almost had a heart attack right there, and felt a sudden jolt of pain run through my side. When I opened my eyes, I was on the floor, a couch in front of me. It seems I'd fallen off of it in my sleep.

"Careful there, you wouldn't want to hurt yourself even more." I heard a calm, melodic voice say. I sat up immediately, cringing as I heard the loud, painful cracks sound from my back. 'Ow' I mouthed to no one in particular, and I heard a soft laugh in response. My head snapped to the side, and I noticed the figure sitting on the couch.

She had pale skin, and wore a plain black dress that reached just above her knees. She sat cross-legged, sipping a cup of tea and smirking down at me. Her midnight black hair fell down past her shoulders, and her eyes were also pitch black, with little flecks of white in them.

"Sit down." She said, nodding towards the couch. I hesitantly got up and sat on it, the cushions feeling oddly comfortable. I was nervous, because I knew who this was. A deity I'd met before, the primordial goddess of the night, Nyx.

She smiled, placing down her cup of tea and facing me. "Now, you had a bit of an accident, didn't you?" She said, sort of half-heartedly mocking me. My eyes narrowed in suspicion, waiting for her to strike. I nodded, and it was then that I noticed I had no shirt on, making me blush.

She smirked, and nodded over towards my faded orange shirt that I'd been wearing under my armor. "There it is. Don't know why you'd want to wear it, that thing's like a decade old. Plus, you clearly don't know how to do your laundry." The goddess remarked, and I didn't give her an answer.

Suddenly, a great headache came over me, and my vision warped. When it was returned to me, my eyes widened as I saw him, Typhon, standing in the corner of the room. He grinned, and I heard his voice once again as I lost focus on Nyx.

_They are tyrants, destroyer. Only you can stop them. You know who I speak of, destroyer. The Olympians, they are what's wrong with this world._

I shook my head, did he actually expect me to believe that? I know the Olympians, and that's not true. He didn't even back it up with an explanation, just made an accusation. I faintly noticed Nyx trying to get my attention, but I was too focused on the abomination in the corner of the room.

He scowled. _You know I'm right, destroyer. You've always hated them, they've always hated you. They're tyrants, history has proven it over and over again. They will go to any lengths to get what they want, murder, rape, betrayal, anything._

My eyes moved away from him, and back to Nyx. She was snapping her fingers in front of my eyes, trying to get my attention. "Finally." She huffed, and sat back down. She was silent again, staring at me intently. "What is it that you want, Perseus?" She asked out of the blue.

My head snapped up, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?" I asked. She sat back, crossing her arms. "What is it that you wish of me, Persues?" I was so confused. "What, why?" I asked.

Her eyes narrowed. "You know why. You were the one who defeated my husband, Erebus. Now I'm in your debt." She explained, but that still didn't satisfy me as an answer. "Wait, why would you be happy that I killed your husband? He is, after all, your husband." I said, making her scowl.

"Some marriages just don't work out, Perseus. You of all people should know that, you've been surrounded by failing marriages your whole life. Zeus and Hera, your father and his wife, even in the mortal world, with your mother and her first husband. Don't assume that just because we were married that we liked each other." She scolded, making my eyes widen.

"H-how did you know about Gabe?" I asked. Gabe was a secret, a topic I didn't like to talk about, and something which few people actually knew about. Nyx smirked at me. "I know many things about you, Perseus. Many things." Not gonna lie, that made me shiver.

I faintly noticed the sound of a clock ticking in the background, making me start to become nervous. Nyx tilted her head, smiling. "You are a curious creature, Perseus." She remarked. "How so?" I asked her, making her laugh. "Don't act like you don't know, Perseus."

"A demigod powerful enough to defeat not only the Titan King, but a primordial goddess. A god powerful enough to become an Olympian and defeat another primordial god single-handedly. A person worthy enough to win over the heart of a maiden goddess. You truly are special, Perseus. I want to help you." She explained, making me awkwardly nod.

She sat forward, making me look her in the eyes. "How can I help, Perseus?" She asked. I closed my eyes tight. I just want to go home. I just want to see my family again. I went to tell her this, but I couldn't speak.

_You do not wish to return to them. They are the enemies, Destroyer._

I choked up as I heard Typhon's voice again. Why was he haunting me, why wouldn't this demon just leave me alone. Let me go. Once again, I began to tell Nyx to take me home, but instead of my shaky voice, Typhon's words spilled out of my mouth, forcing me to say not what I wanted.

"Teach me how to use my power, Nyx. Show me how I can become truly powerful." I said. Her eyes narrowed, and she sat back in curiosity. "Not the answer I would've expected, but a good wish nonetheless." She said, and I sighed as I realised it would be a while before I left this place.

The goddess stood up, her black dress flowing around her waist. She inclined her head towards the door. "Follow me, Perseus." She ordered as she left through the door. I complied, and we were in a dark hallway. Strangely dark. I looked over, and she was holding a dim candle in her hand, barely enough to light the way. Where did she even get that?

Nyx walked down the hallway, and I followed her, not wanting to be left in darkness. I'd had enough of darkness for now. My heart went into overdrive as I heard the distant screech of one of those… creatures. Nyx chuckled, waving it off. "Don't mind them, they get excited whenever we get a visitor, because it usually means feeding time for them." She said.

I guess my face must've visibly changed to one of fear, because she looked at me with a playful smile. "Lighten up, Perseus. I told them you are not to be touched." She said, trying to calm me down. I nodded, but couldn't shake the image of one of those things standing over me as I was helplessly trapped in the rubble.

Nyx opened the door to a room, which was large and empty. "This will do. Now, Perseus, go stand in the middle of the room." She told me, and as she went to work on the lighting, I followed her orders. It was cold, which made me feel uncomfortable.

My heart skipped a beat as the lights flashed on, and Nyx and I stood facing each other in the middle of the room. She started speaking. "Well, if you want to be taught how to truly harness your powers of, what was it? Time, Earth, etc. Well, if you want to learn how to use those, we'll have to have regular lessons. We shall start out small today, using your power from Gaea to create things from the Earth." She said.

My jaw dropped. "Wait, I can what?" I asked, unaware of this. Nyx smirked. "Ever wondered how Gaea could just summon dirt swords and stuff. It's similar to what you can do with your water powers from Poseidon, but since she was a primordial, you can take it a whole step further." She said.

"We'll go in stages. First, an inanimate object. Try summoning a dirt sword like hers." She said. That was easy, since it was the same method as with my water swords, but instead of using water, I thought of the ground beneath me. When I opened my eyes, there was a sword roughly the same size as Riptide in my hand.

Nyx clapped, and when I let go, the sword disintegrated into the ground once more. "That was easy, now let's try stage two. A live animal. Start off small, try creating a snake." She told me, and once again, I closed my eyes and concentrated.

My fights balled up tight, as I thought about snakes. Just snakes. I wasn't an expert on them, so I just thought of one I'd seen on TV once. It was a cobra, dark green with a tan underbelly. I just had that image in my mind, concentrating as hard as I could and using the same technique.

After a few minutes, I heard a sharp hiss, and my eyes snapped open. There on the ground next to me was a snake, the same one I'd been imagining. It slithered around, minding its own business, without a care in the world. My eyes widened, and I stepped back as it moved closer.

I heard Nyx's voice. "Don't worry, it won't bite. It is your creation after all." She calmed, making me relax. The snake slithered up, curling around my legs. I tensed, but calmed when I remembered what Nyx said. As it continued to roam around me, Nyx returned to her spot for the next step.

"Okay, that was good, but let's try something bigger. How about a dog?" She suggested. I nodded, and prepared myself. I thought about Mrs O'Leary. I had such fond memories of that pooch. I wonder where she is right now? Last time I checked she was in the Underworld playing with Cerberus.

I then realised that I didn't want a Mrs O'Leary clone, I wanted a unique dog. I changed the idea from a hellhound to something smaller, a wolf. The fur remained black, but the eyes changed from blood red to emerald green. A simple creature, but still so magical at the same time.

My eyes opened at the strange feeling coming from my hand. Wait, how? I looked down, and there he was, just sitting there. The very dog I'd been thinking about just before. He was as beautiful as I'd imagined him to be, and as the cobra slithered up his shoulder and looked at me, the image was complete.

I smiled, and pet the both of them, making the wolf wag its tongue happily at me. The snake looked up at me, flicking its tongue, and I'm sure it would've smiled if it could. Nyx cleared her throat, making all three of us look over towards her.

"I think you're ready for the final stage, Perseus. At least for today. This one's sure to drain you out." She warned, getting me anticipated. "I want you to create a person. A baby would do." She said, and my jaw hit the floor.

"What? You want me to make a person? Just like that?" I asked, dumbfounded. Nyx shrugged. "You've been doing alright so far." She remarked, and I almost facepalmed. "Nyx, I'm not sure if you know this, but there's a lot more… organic processes to just making people." I said slowly, making her scowl.

"I know what sex is, Perseus. It's just that primordials don't need it to create offspring. Chaos, the first primordial, didn't have anyone to procreate with, so he had to do it this way. That is how Gaea, Tartarus, Erebus, Eros and I were born. Then, we figured it out from there." She explained, making me cringe as I realised what had happened. "Gross."

Nyx chuckled. "Not at the time, but looking back, I guess it is kind of gross." She joked. Her face straightened, and she looked at me expectantly. My eyes returned towards the area in front of me, and I took a few deep breaths. I was about to create a person, and I couldn't quite register that.

My eyes closed, and I concentrated all my power into this. I didn't want the person to turn up dead or deformed, I wanted them to be perfect. _Just focus and use your power, Destroyer. Create your first soldier._ Typhon encouraged in my head. It was weird to be supported by the literal nightmare of the gods, but I didn't question it.

I thought of myself, or at least myself the last time I'd looked in a mirror. Black hair, sea green eyes, tanned skin and a swimmer's body. Then I realised that I didn't want to make a mini-me, I wanted this person to unique, their own body.

I smiled as the picture of Artemis floated through my mind. Long auburn hair, usually braided back so it flowed neatly over her shoulder or down her back, matching well with her Greek tanned skin. Her piercing silver eyes, brighter than a star, staring at me with love. Her slim but athletic build, covered by a silver parka and jeans, or maybe a chiton and tiara on a special occasion.

The sight of her once again made me long for home, for her touch, and I failed to notice my hand opening and a green essence flowing out, both forest green and emerald colour. My thought continued to rest on her, my beautiful wife.

I smiled at the thought of holding her hand once more. I'll be home soon, Moonbeam.

My eyes snapped open when I heard a sound, a strange sound that I wasn't all-too familiar with. It was the sound of a child, a human child, crying. It really was the strangest thing. I looked down, and at that very moment, all my fears evaporated as I registered what I was looking at.

Two bundles lay on the ground, and the noise was coming from them. Where did the cloths come from? I slowly stepped over, and as I looked down, my heart melted. Two faces looked up at me, their faces scrunched up from screaming their little lungs out.

I bent down, grabbing one in each arm, and brought them back up, a look of curiosity etched on my face. Almost instantaneously, the crying stopped, replaced by soft cooing.

They opened their eyes, and once again, my heart melted.

Their eyes were sea-green and bright silver respectively, and once they noticed me, they started smiling, slightly giggling. It was all I could do to not break down right there. These were my children I was holding, and it was the most alien feeling I'd ever felt.

I looked at the two of them with tears in my eyes. A boy and a girl, my son and daughter, and they did nothing but gurgle and grin up at me. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked over to see Nyx also smiling down at them. "Twins? You're more powerful than I thought, Perseus. How do you feel?" She asked.

I sighed. "Honestly, this is all going really fast for me. A few hours ago, I was dead and lying under rubble, now I'm standing here with a primordial, holding my children. I'm tired, but happy all the same." I told her honestly, and she nodded.

"I see they look like Artemis. Did you think of her as the mother?" She questioned, though she already knew the answer. I nodded again. "I just knew that if I were to have children with anyone, it would be her." Nyx nodded, smiling. "You know that makes them her children, right? Biologically, I mean." She asked out of the blue, making my eyes widen.

"What?" I asked. "She's their mother, both biologically and in thought. You used Gaea's primordial creation powers to make a child of yourself and Artemis, so now they are both of yours' biological children." She told me. I turned back to the babies. "Thought gods didn't have DNA." I asked her, to which she raised an eyebrow.

"Perseus, if that were true, how did you get Poseidon's eyes? Pure chance? Eyes like those don't come naturally. We're immune to the negative effects of incest, yes, but that doesn't mean we don't have DNA." She explained, to which I nodded. She tilted her head. "You must be tired, yes?" She asked, to which I confirmed.

Nyx looked back down at my kids, then back at me. "What will you name them?" She asked, and I gulped. That wasn't a question I was ready for. What would I name them? I wanted something unique, not just like Joe or something, but I still didn't know. Maybe something Greek.

My eyes darted around as if searching for ideas. Then all of a sudden they stopped, and I thought of something. "How… how about Larissa Sally Jackson for the girl, and Calix Chiron Jackson?" I asked, to which she smiled. "Those are beautiful names, Perseus." She told me.

I smiled, and then gradually felt weaker and weaker, as I started yawning. Nyx grabbed my arm, leading me out of the room back into the dark hallway. She snapped her fingers, and the torches all the way down the hall were lit, allowing us to see the way. "You should rest, Perseus, so should the children. You're all very tired." She said.

I frowned. "What if I squash them? I've been known to roll around in my sleep." I warned her, to which she looked dumbfounded. "Perseus, you don't sleep in the same bed as your newborns, that's what cribs are for. I'll summon one for you when we reach the guest room." She said, making me sigh in relief.

We reached the bedroom, and luckily there was actual lighting in here. She took Calix out of my arms, despite protests from me at first, and set him down on the left side of the crib, and she gestured for me to do the same with Larissa.

I kissed my daughter on the forehead, and set her down next to her brother. Both of them were fast asleep, and I stood watching them silently with a smile on my face, making Nyx chuckle. "Oh how I remember when I first became a mother. You'll get used to it, Perseus, but there is nothing better than waking up and seeing your babies still smiling and healthy. Just remember that." She told me, and I nodded to her, still in silence.

She smiled. "Alright, I'll leave you to it. When you wake up, I'll be downstairs, just walk around until you find me. All the big bad monsters are outside. Tomorrow I'll show you the basics of parenting, so that way you don't accidentally put them in the microwave or something." She teased, bringing a horrified look across my face at the idea.

Nyx rolled her eyes. "I was kidding, Perseus. Now, goodnight." She said, closing the door and turning the light off. The lamp next to the bed remained on, so that I could get into bed.

I crawled in, turning the lamp off and staring up at the ceiling. As I did so, I thought about my friends, my family, and my wife. I thought of what I would say to her if she were in my dreams.

Artemis, the strangest thing happened today.

**Well, that one's done. Now the story can start being what the description tells it to be. I wasn't entirely happy with the Typhon part of this chapter. I need to find a way for Percy to hate Olympus for this story to work, but I don't want to just have Percy being mind-controlled for the rest of this. Perhaps a little deceit would do it. Again, what should Artemis' daughter be named, the one from last chapter. I've only got one suggestion so far, so I need more before I finalize the decision. **

**Word count: 4718**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Youth of Tomorrow

**Next chapter already. I've gotten a few suggestions for the name, and one of them was Selene, which I quite like. I might go with that, unless you can come up with something better. Thanks for reading this far guys. I'm really happy we've got this far. It's got like 17,000 views! At least on . On Wattpad it has like 1k.**

Chapter 14: The Youth of Tomorrow

_Poseidon P.O.V._

She gripped my hand tighter, making me wince as she screamed at the top of her lungs. Kylie scrunched her hand up in the white bed sheets as tears leaked out of her eyes. My face turned to one of worry as the screaming got louder. Sally hadn't been nearly as bad.

I turned to the doctor, a young man with a concerned look on his face. "Is she alright?" I asked him with noticeable fear in my voice. A nurse handed something to the doctor and he continued to work. "She has high blood pressure. We're trying to lower it without harming the baby." He informed me.

I nodded, and went back to calming Kylie as her screams got louder. I could not lose this child. Losing one was enough, but to lose one before they even got to live was new to me. I didn't want to experience such a thing, not after what happened.

Suddenly the doctor cursed, and some nurses came over to help with whatever went wrong. My head shot up. "What's wrong? What happened?" I asked, but no one satisfied me with an answer. One of the machines started beeping frantically, and my forehead began to sweat.

My head darted around, looking for an answer. Kylie was now screaming louder than ever, tear stains evident on her face. I held her hand tight with both of mine, telling her that it was going to be alright. The bedsheets were stained with blood, and the doctor was cursing every second.

I squeezed her hand tighter. "Come on Kylie, you can do this. Don't give out on me. Please, think of the baby." I begged her. Minutes ticked by slowly, and any every second of it was bracing for the worst.

Kylie cried even louder as the doctor looked up at her. "Alright, one more push should-" He was cut off by the most relieving sound that we could hear at that moment. The sound of a newborn baby crying.

Kylie stopped crying and lay on the bed, panting heavily. I shot up, walking over to the nurse who held the bundle. She handed the small pink bundle to me with a smile on her face. "Meet your new daughter, Mr Washington." She congratulated. I thanked her and walked back over to Kylie, who looked at the bundle eagerly.

Her face was pale, and her eyes half-lidded. I smiled at her, and held out the child. "You did it, Kylie. A healthy baby girl." I told her, making her smile weakly. She shakily reached out and grabbed the bundle, bringing it closer to her chest to cradle it. Her breath shook as her body quivered, and a tear dropped on the infant face, making it giggle slightly.

"She's beautiful. She'll do so much for this world." Kylie said, and I nodded. I had a feeling that she would. "What're you going to name her?" I asked. She remained silent for a moment, smiling down at her child.

With her thumb, she rubbed the wet mark off her daughter's cheek, and her breath remained shaky with tears. "Arianna Diana Washington. That's her name, Poseidon. Arianna Diana Washington." She said, and I nodded, liking the name choice.

The first name meant 'very holy' in Greek, how fitting. The middle name simply reminded me of my daughter-in-law, who was now expecting a child of her own. I'd have to remind myself to tell her about this, and to see how my grandbaby was coming along.

Kylie bent down to kiss her Arianna on the forehead, doing so in a very loving, motherly fashion. "I love you, Arianna." She whispered. I smiled, it truly was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen in my life.

Then, of course, it all went to Hades.

The mortals' machines started beeping crazily again as Kylie's breath hitched, and she slumped forward. Panicked, I rushed to her side, taking the now wailing Arianna out from her arms. Nurses and attendants rushed to her side, administering whatever they needed to.

My breathing increased as I watched them work on her, and I was pushed back to the wall. I cradled Arianna as I watched Kylie, now with her eyes closed as her hand twitched on the side of the bed. The infant was wailing, and I wondered if the baby could sense what was happening to its mother.

The machine was going off the charts now, and my breath hitched as I waited for the inevitable. Then, as I knew it so painfully would, it happened. The machine flatlined, Arianna calmed, and Kylie's arm lay hanging over the side of the bed.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I clutched Arianna tightly to my chest. She was gone, and now Ari was alone. I could not take care of her, I was a god! Plus, Amphitrite would not allow one of my bastard children in her home. What was I going to do? What was she going to do?

She needed someone to take care of her until the time for her to go to camp came, as the campers wouldn't be able to properly care for her. They were teenagers after all. No, she needed a parental figure, someone who would know how to take care of a child, a demigod child nonetheless.

Unless…

I sighed, looking towards the bed, and let a single tear out of my eye. "Goodbye, Kylie." I whispered, before flashing out unnoticed to the mortals. I flashed to the opposite side of the country, to the only place I could think to go. Outside a familiar apartment where I then knocked on the door.

It opened surprisingly quickly, and the person standing there gasped. "I'm sorry Sally, but I had nowhere else to go."

_Artemis P.O.V._

Achilles whined at my feet as I sat on a log by the campfire. The hunters sat around as well, eating, talking or just sitting there quietly. I can't say I blame Achilles though, since I knew why he was whining, and I felt the same.

He missed Percy, his friend. Achilles had hardly played with anyone since his friend passed, really only on a good day or the time we'd found Mrs O'Leary wandering around in Long Island when we were heading to Camp Half-Blood.

I placed my hand on my stomach as I frowned. It had been two months since the battle. Percy's grave had been closed up about three weeks ago, and I was coming along slightly in my pregnancy.

Apollo would come visit me often, once he accidentally flashed right in one of the girls' tents, forcing Atalanta to chase him out not unlike how she did to Achilles. Apollo would check on me, make sure the baby and I were doing alright, and then left.

I was so busy with this pregnancy that I hadn't gone hunting in weeks. Apollo had recommended that I not until the child was born, so as to not inflict any damage to it by tripping or getting into a scuffle. I had scowled at him when he insinuated that I, the Goddess of the Hunt, might trip over a tree root.

To be honest, I was scared. This was my first pregnancy, my first child, and I didn't even have the comfort of the father with me. I had the Hunt, Apollo and Athena, even of Hestia, Poseidon and my father, but none of them could fill the void that Percy left. I felt alone, and I was scared of being alone. It was one of the reasons I started the hunt, because the woods were lonely.

Loneliness was one of my greatest fears.

I felt a weight press into my side as Ariel started to fall asleep on me. I smiled. No matter how much I felt so, I would never be alone. I had my family to help. I had the Hunt. I wrapped my arm around the girl and pulled her closer to me, and I noticed Thalia smile at me from across the fire pit.

I smiled back at her. Yep, I would always have the hunt.

_Time Skip_

A horn sounded as we crossed the magical border into the Greek demigod camp. Two campers came out to greet us, and I noticed that they were two heroes of Olympus, the son of Zeus and the daughter of Aphrodite. The son of Zeus, Jason, hugged Piper and the two of them welcomed us into the camp.

We entered the campgrounds, and I ushered my hunters off to Cabin 8. I, however, walked over to the big house and greeted Chiron, who was standing on the front porch. He smiled. "Good afternoon, Lady Artemis!" The centaur grinned.

I smiled, nodding in respect. Chiron was one of the few males I respected, since he never showed any sort of lust towards females and was always kind and respectful. He stepped aside for me to enter the building and I did so, thanking him.

As always, the big house was warm, and it had an air of comfort to it. Of course, that feeling was ruined when I saw my deadbeat brother passed out on the couch, various cans of non-alcoholic drinks laying around him.

I walked over and lightly smacked him on the forehead, making him instantly jolt up in surprise. "Wha's happnin…" He slurred his words, blinking one eye at a time while trying to wake up. Chiron cleared his throat. "Lady Artemis is here, Dionysus." He told him, and the god slowly got up, rubbing his forehead. "Morning, sister."

I rolled my eyes. "It's two hours into the afternoon but whatever." I told him, but the god of parties didn't seem to care. He stumbled over to the mini-fridge, reaching in and pulling out a diet coke. Dionysus turned back to me and leaned on the counter. "So sister, how are things?" He asked casually.

I sat down on the couch, careful to avoid the weird stain that was left on it. "Things have been going well. We haven't found any monster nests for a while, and the hunt keeps finding new members. It's one of the most peaceful periods that we've had for a long time." I reported, and Dionysus nodded, clearly done with the conversation.

Chiron frowned. "And how do things go with the child, milady?" He asked. I smiled, placing a hand on my very slightly bulged stomach. "Things go well. The baby's healthy so far and Athena's sorted out a plan for when the baby comes."

The centaur raised an eyebrow. "Which is?" He asked. I wouldn't have told most people the answer, but I trusted Chiron. He was a good friend. "Athena's going to stay with me in the later stages of my pregnancy. When I go into labor, she'll be there to call Apollo, and also to act as my midwife."

"When the child is born, I shall go on, uh, maternity leave as the mortals call it, and leave Thalia in control of the hunt. Once that's over and the child is mature enough, it will stay with the hunt and I." I told him, and he nodded. "Well, Lady Artemis, if there's anything you need me to do, just ask." He offered.

I bit my lip. "Well, actually Chiron. There might be something you could do." The activities director raised an eyebrow in question. I fiddled with my hands. "I want my child to receive the same training that its father got. When it's maybe five or so, could I send it here every summer to be trained by you and the other Heroes of Olympus." I requested.

Chiron looked shocked, but his face became solemn, and he pressed a fist on his heart and bowed. "It would be my honor to train the child of my favourite student, milady." He accepted, and I sighed in relief. "Thank you Chiron, you don't know how much that means to me." I said, and he smiled.

"The pleasure's all mine, Lady Artemis."

_Percy's P.O.V._

I cradled Calix as he softly slept in my arms, smiling down at my son. The auburn-haired baby snored very softly as his sister slept in the arms of Nyx, who was bottle-feeding the girl across the room on the couch. Nyx had been a great help so far, I'm sure that without her I would probably have dropped one of them by now.

I was careful though, and Nyx showed me how to properly care for them, stuff like diaper-changing, bottle feeding -we obviously couldn't breast feed them, and what to do when they cry. Trust me, that was the hardest part.

I heard Nyx sigh as the bottle fell on the floor -obviously spat out- and Larissa began crying at the top of her lungs. I smiled and walked over to her. "Someone's tired. Here, swap over." I told her, handing her Calix while I grabbed Larissa with my other arm. The girl immediately settled when she found herself in her father's arms.

Nyx smiled at me. "It appears that she prefers you over me." She noted, making me laugh. "Good. I wouldn't want my daughter liking her godmother more than her real father." I told her.

Oh yeah, I made Nyx their godmother. She was there for their births, and she's been really good for us this past week. She seemed to enjoy taking care of children again, she said it was the one thing she missed about having Erebus around, they'd have little godlings running around every few years.

I hope Artemis doesn't mind.

I'd been meaning to go home for a while, but something told me not to. I don't know what, but some feeling deep inside me told me to stay here with Nyx for the time being. I felt that, since the children still needed some tending to, I'd stay until we were ready to move.

Larissa was now asleep, not making a sound as she was curled up in my arms. Calix had both his hands on the bottle as Nyx fed him, trying to get as much of the formula as he could fit in his mouth. I laughed, the boy was definitely assertive.

When he'd had enough, Calix took the bottle out of his mouth and pushed it away, Nyx getting the idea. She looked over at me. "I think he's bored. Wanna play with him?" She asked and I nodded, taking him from him arms after setting Larissa down in the bed.

I sat cross-legged on the floor as I set him down, making funny faces and tickling the baby. I delighted in hearing my son giggle as I did so, continuing to play. Overall, I loved being a parent. It was exactly as Nyx had described it. Waking up every morning and seeing my babies still happy was the greatest feeling ever.

After a while of playing, my son got tired, and I was forced to put him to bed. The infant snuggled up against his sleeping sister, enjoying her warmth as he dozed off. Nyx looked at me. "Perseus, we need to talk." She said. I nodded, confused, and followed her out of the room.

When we were in the hallway, she closed the door behind me and crossed her arms. "You can't stay here forever, Perseus, you know that. You need to either find a new home or go back to Olympus. Your choice. As much as I enjoy having you and the kids stay here, I can't shelter you forever. I _do _house monsters as well, and some of them are getting a bit rowdy at being locked out." She told me, and my face paled.

Time seemed to freeze, and I looked around in confusion. Nothing was moving, not even the flames from the various torches on the wall. Then, I saw it. The figure standing in the corner, his golden eyes glowing furiously. The monster that had been haunting me for days. Typhon.

He emerged from the shadows, his disgusting form making me shiver. I thought back to the blueprints Hephaestus had, and my heart sank at the thought of a 1000 foot tall version of him. He snarled at me. "You cannot go back, Destroyer." He commanded.

I gulped, but stood my ground. "And why is that?" I challenged him, making me growl. "They have betrayed you, Perseus." He said, circling me. I crossed my arms, shivering. "O-oh yeah, h-how so?" I stuttered. Typhon glared, and snatched at my hair. I hissed in pain, and he brought a hand up in front of me, waving it around and causing a small screen similar to an iris message to appear. "Let me show you."

As the scene played out, my face paled, and it very much wasn't helped by his hand digging into my skull, and I saw a golden mist descend over my eyes.

I don't want to discuss what I saw in the video, just know that I felt disgusted, horrified, ashamed, angry, sad, upset, betrayed and cold. Just cold. I couldn't feel much else, I just stuttered on my words as I held back tears. The golden mist disappeared, and so did the screen.

I panted heavily, running through what I had witnessed in my head. No, it couldn't be true, could it? They wouldn't. They couldn't. I trusted them, and they did this. I couldn't believe it. How could they. I'll-I'll get them for this, they won't get away. I won't let this stand. I will not, I will get my revenge. They will pay for this.

I then noticed that I hadn't seen all the Olympians in the video. Hephaestus, Hestia and thankfully Artemis were absent. Good, they didn't need to get involved. This was between me and Olympus, I will destroy them for what they've done.

Time suddenly resumed, and I noticed my nostrils were flaring, and Nyx seemed concerned. "Perseus, are you okay? Your eyes are gol-" She asked, but I cut her off. "I will not go back, not yet."

"I need time."

**Okay, so again, I'm not proud with that whole Typhon segment, but I need an excuse for Percy to go batshit crazy against the Olympians. So forgive me, ignore it if you want, and just pretend that the Olympians, particularly Zeus, did something bad to incite Percy's anger. It won't be random though, I'll make it line up with the plot, though the answer may not come until very late into the story. Also, should I include the scene of Artemis' daughter being born in the next chapter, or are you guys getting tired of birth scenes. It's either that or just the part after the girl is born, I'm going to include that part anyway, it's just I want to know whether you guys want the actual birth scene as well.**

**Word count: 3242**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: If Only

**Thanks for reading again. Once again, this is gonna be a multiple POV chapter, but only two people. It's time skipped a few months forward, just so everything isn't going so painfully slowly. 6x9+6+9=69, nice.**

Chapter 15: If Only

_Seven Months Later_

_Artemis P.O.V._

I sat in the living room of my palace, bored out of my mind. Athena was in the kitchen, making sandwiches for the two of us. I was immensely tired, just waiting for this child to be out of me so that I could return to what I had been doing before this all happened, hunting and killing monsters galore. Of course, I'd also have to take care of the child, but it was better to think of the rewards than the work.

The tv that Hephaestus had made personally for every Olympian ran in the background, but I didn't really pay attention to it. I thought about my child on the way, as I had been for many months. Parenting would be a massive change in direction that my life had to take, and I wondered whether I was truly ready for it.

No, I mustn't think like that. I can do this. I can do this. I can-

Wait, why is some weird liquid running down my legs. Did I- EW! Did I just piss myself?! What the fu- wait, what was it that Athena taught me about labor? Oh no.

"Oh no." I replicated my thoughts with my voice. I panicked, hyperventilating and clutching the cushions tightly. Then I remembered the plan. "ATHENA!" I screeched, and I'm sure all of Olympus knew right then what just happened.

My sister charged into the room, brandishing a bread knife and covering her left ear tightly. "WHAT!?" She screamed, confused. I was still hyperventilating, but managed to get out to her. "I- I think my water just broke."

Then she went into action.

She screamed and the top of her lungs. "APOLLO!" Calling my brother to my palace, and she rushed to my side. My twin appeared almost instantaneously, and set to work. He flashed me onto a bed in his temple, all the necessary items that he needed were laid out on the table already.

He flashed me into a hospital gown, putting on scrubs himself. Athena sat by my side, taking a hold of my hand. I was still hyperventilating, waiting for the immense pain that I knew came with labor. Then of course, it hit me like a truck.

I screamed in pain, squeezing Athena's hand with all my might. She visibly cringed at the feeling, but that was the least of my worries at the moment. I was more focused on the little godling that decided it wanted to see the world now.

The labor was probably the most stressful time of my life, far more than any battle I'd ever fought. My mind went into overdrive, thinking up the worst outcomes that could possibly occur. Stillborn, death, etc. The images that flashed through my mind made me want to vomit, it was horrendous.

I was disgusted that my mind could think up such things, but I almost broke down in tears at the same time. No, I would not let myself think like that. It'll be alright. Everything will go just as planned, you have nothing to worry about, Artemis.

"Push, Artemis!" Apollo shouted, as a great wave of pain washed over me, and I screamed, doing as he said. Okay, maybe I have that to worry about, but nothing else.

It was hours of pain, with the only sounds being my cries of pain and Apollo telling me to push at the top of his lungs. Athena would squeeze my hand and stroke the back it soothingly with her thumb, whispering calming things to me. I'll be honest, it worked, mainly because it reminded me of how Percy used to do it. I used memories clear as day to calm me during this time. It was all I could do.

The bedsheets by my lower body were bloodied, and Apollo squinted to get a better look. "It's crowning, Artemis. Keep pushing!" He urged and I did so, screaming even louder. Athena encouraged me to keep going, but I felt on the verge of collapsing. "Keep breathing, Artemis. Deep breaths, in and out." She reminded me, but it was hard to concentrate on my breathing patterns when there was a little person coming out of me.

I felt like I was gonna die due to lack of oxygen, since it was hard to breathe since I was screaming almost non-stop. I kept pushing though, thanks to Athena's encouragement, and the labor lasted for hours. Apollo looked up at me after almost forever. "Come on Artemis, you're almost there." He said.

I felt like giving up, but continued. With one final burst of energy, I pushed as hard as I could, and was rewarded greatly. The relieving sound of a child's wails filled the room as I relaxed my grip on the bedsheets and regained my breath.

Apollo grinned at me from the end of the bed, holding up an ugly little creature. "It's a girl!" He announced, and Athena gasped, getting up and running over to look at the child. The two of them stood gawking and cooing my child, Apollo tickling it's chin and making it giggle.

I crossed my arms and cleared my throat loudly, catching their attention. "If you don't mind, I'd like to meet my daughter." I said, annoyed. They nodded frantically, and Apollo handed me my bundled up daughter.

I have to say, when Apollo first pulled it up for me to see, the thing looked ugly as Hades, and I still think that all newborn babies are ugly, but this one just… looked beautiful.

She was squinting up at me, trying to adjust her sparkling sea-green eyes to the light of the world. Her eyes had little flecks of silver in them, creating a sort-of galactic look. She had my greek tan, though it was slightly covered up by the redness of her skin. My daughter had also inherited my nose, and she giggled when I booped it lightly.

I smiled down at my daughter while tears gathered in my eyes. She truly was the most beautiful creature I'd ever laid my eyes on. Athena sat beside me, also smiling down upon my daughter. "What are you going to name her, Artemis?" She asked, and I stared off into the corner for a while.

"I thought it would be a boy... I was going to name him Perseus." I said, still staring off absentmindedly. Apollo and Athena looked at each other, then down at the ground. My gaze returned to my grinning daughter. "No matter." I said, tickling her chin.

I thought for a moment. I wanted the name to be meaningful, yet Greek so that it wouldn't just be a goddess with a normal english name. I thought back to all the people I'd lost, and two names stuck out in my head.

"Selena Zoe Jackson. I think it's a good name, don't you?" I declared, and the two of them smiled and nodded their heads. I smiled too, and for a second, I swear that Selene and Zoe stood in place of those two, smiling at me warmly.

I closed my eyes and they were gone, back to the void and stars respectfully, to continue waiting until we meet again.

Yes, I named my daughter after two of my closest friends: Selene, the goddess of the moon who had also passed down the mantle of moon goddess when she faded, Helios following her example and giving it to my brother, and Zoe, the greatest hunter and probably the greatest friend I'd ever had. Rest easy, you two.

Apollo left the room to announce to everyone who'd arrived in waiting what the gender and the name of the child was, and Athena looked over at me. "She'll be a great goddess. I'm sure that if we did some convincing, father would let her on the Olympian council once she reached a certain age. She is of promising lineage, after all." She said.

I thanked her for the compliment, but my thoughts drifted elsewhere as I looked into my daughter's sparkling eyes. _If only your father could see you, little one. He'd be so proud._ I thought, and my daughter grinned a toothless grin, as if she could hear me.

The door burst open, and Apollo was pushed aside was a large hand. "Step aside, son. I'd like to meet my granddaughter." My father boldly announced, making his way in with Poseidon and surprisingly, my mother Leto.

I smiled at her. "Mom?" I asked, not really believing it. I hadn't seen her in centuries, even though Percy did have her and the other titans freed years ago. She smiled warmly at me, bringing back good memories of my childhood and reminding me of my Aunt Hestia. "You're grown so much, my little moon." She said.

I smiled, holding out my daughter. "Come meet your new granddaughter, Selena." I invited them, and immediately the two gods and titaness were at my side, inspecting my newborn child.

Poseidon chuckled. "She has his father's eyes, though they're a bit different." He noted. Leto laughed. "That's because some of Artemis' silver eyes are showing in them. My gods, she's absolutely adorable." She awed.

Zeus gave a great bout of laughter. "She's gonna be a fighter, I can already tell. She has that look on her face that says 'If you don't back up, I'm gonna kick the shit out of you." He said, and Poseidon laughed.

I held her out, though slightly hesitant to let her go. "Do you want to hold her?" I asked, and my mother immediately shot past them and swept Selena out of my arms. "Oh, my granddaughter, she looks so much like you would've had you been an infant." She remarked, and I cringed at the memories of being stuck in the womb for the first few years of my life. With Apollo, no less. I still rate the feeling of being able to stretch once I'd been born as one of my top 3 greatest feelings ever.

Leto continued to coo over my daughter as Zeus went and opened the door, allowing all the Olympians plus some friends to pour into the room. Not that he asked me first. As soon as they noticed the baby in Leto's arms, most of the goddesses went to gushing over her and complimenting me on my first-born.

I cleared my throat and glared at them. "I'd like my child back before you all smother her." I told them, and the crowd of goddesses immediately parted and Leto handed Selena back to me.

Zeus came to my side and told me something that made me frown. "So, when are you going to present her to the city waiting outside?" He asked, gesturing to the balcony. I looked at him with shock on my face. "Come again?"

Zeus nodded, smiling. "You know, the huge crowd of thousands that have been waiting patiently for you to give birth for the last 8 hours. They're right outside." he said, standing up and walking towards the door. I sat there, shocked as he waited for me patiently.

I didn't move, and Zeus frowned. "Should I do it then?" I nodded, and handed him Selena. My father walked out onto the balcony, and I watched with a smile as he announced to the crowd.

"Olympus! Today, as you have all been waiting for, my granddaughter, the first child of Artemis, Olympian goddess of the Moon, Hunt, Childbirth and the Wilderness, and Perseus, Olympian god of Time, Earth, Heroes and Swordsmanship, The Hero of Olympus, was born. Today, I present to your future goddess: Selena Zoe Jackson!"

The crowd cheered as he held up my daughter to the world, and Selena met her people.

If only Percy could be here to see her.

_Percy P.O.V._

Larissa sat on my lap as I looked out the window towards the barren fields. So far the throne room and the west wing had been built, well most of the west wing anyway. Enough for the three of us to live in.

Oh yeah, you probably don't know what I'm talking about. You see, after I saw… what I saw, I got talking to Nyx. It took a lot of convincing, but now I have her monsters reconstructing Erebus' palace, and I'm living in it. You may be wondering why I'm doing all this, and I haven't just gone back to Olympus.

I will explain all in good time, I swear. Just know that I can't go back. Not after what he showed me.

So now I had the monsters working for me, and there had only been a few hiccups in terms of loyalty, but they were quickly put down. Apparently some monsters didn't take too well to working for the guy who killed them previously. Thankfully, most could be paid off with the promise of food and protection.

Anyways, Larissa sat on my lap, leaning back into my chest as I spoon fed her breakfast. Calix sat in the next chair, waiting for his turn rather impatiently, slamming his hands on the table as if it were a drum kit. My snake, who I had yet to name, was curled around my shoulders, poking it's tongue out at Larissa. The wolf, who also didn't have a name yet, sat by the table sniffing Calix.

Yes, I kept the animals I created. What else was I supposed to do? Feed them to the monsters? It was kind of disappointing that I hadn't found a name for either of them yet, I just referred to them as "Buddy" or "Bud". At least they were good with the kids.

When Larissa's bowl was empty, I switched them over, feeding Calix his meal and thankfully shutting him up. In the middle of this, Nyx walked in. She smiled when she saw me feeding Calix. "Perseus, how have you been?" She said.

I smiled at her. "I'm fine, Nyx. Most of my time has been spent ordering the monsters around and taking care of these two." I said, bouncing Calix up on my knee and gesturing to Larissa. They had grown in their nine months of life, now both crawling around and growing hair. Calix's was long for a male and auburn like his mother, while Larissa's was longer and black like mine. I can remember when the two of them said their first words only seconds apart.

_I was sitting in the nursery playing with my two children. They were six months old now, and recently had learned to crawl around. They seemed to be growing together, whenever one of them did something notable, the other would learn to do so not long after._

_Larissa was playing with a wooden horse that Nyx had spotted in a store when she was on one of her visits up to the mortal world. She lay on her stomach, moving the toy up and down in a galloping motion, giggling as she did so._

_Calix was sitting in front of me, using my palms as a punching bag. I didn't mind though, it's not like it hurt, and it was good that he was starting to show signs of a fighter at such a young age._

_When he started to tire out, I swept him in for a hug, exciting him again. Larissa, seeing that she was missing out, decided she wanted to get in on it too, crawling over and getting scooped up in a hug._

_Then, to my surprise, she looked over at her brother and pointed at me. "Dada." I gasped, my eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. "What?" I asked, though it was kind of stupid to ask an infant a question._

_Calix giggled and looked at me, clapping his hands. "Dada! Dada dada dada dada!" He repeated over and over. The two of them burst into fits of laughter as tears formed in my eyes. I held them close and thought to myself. 'My babies just said their first words.'_

I was snapped out of my flashback by Nyx, who was snapping her fingers in front of my eyes. "Perseus, are you okay?" She asked. I nodded, and noticed that the bowl containing Calix's breakfast had tipped onto the floor, and he was grinning up at me.

Nyx whistled, and a Empousa came in and cleaned it up. She sat down next to me, playing with Larissa across the table while talking with me. "So Perseus, what's on your mind?" She asked. I shrugged, but in reality there was something on my mind. Something I'd been thinking about for a while now.

Nyx leaned over towards me, her cold black eyes calculating me, looking me over. She narrowed her eyes at me with suspicion. "I know you're lying, Perseus. Tell me, what bothers you?" She pressed. I bit my lip, not really wanting to tell her, but it slipped out.

"I want another child." I said, shocking the goddess. She froze, her eyes widening. "What?" I bit my lip again, not meeting her eyes. "I've been thinking about it, and I want another child." I said.

Nyx leaned back in her chair and smiled. "Of course, Perseus. It just came as a surprise is all. Just do what you did before, and it should work. Just make sure you create it with a different idea in mind of what you want it to look like, otherwise it could just come out looking identical to Larissa or Calix." She clarified.

I nodded, and stood up, handing Calix to her to hold while I did it. I stood in the empty part of the room, and Nyx nodded at me in encouragement. I closed my eyes like I had before, listening to the wolf panting slightly from beside the table.

My thoughts drifted to Artemis, and I wondered what she'd be doing right now? I remembered Nyx's words, and so I decided that I'd make the child more like me than Artemis this time, since last time was sort of halfway.

In my mind I envisioned black hair, sea-green eyes, and I put in a bit of extra strength. It wouldn't hurt to do so. Like I had done before, I held my breath and opened my palm, held out in front of me.

I couldn't feel whether it was working, it wasn't like that. I just sort of had to hope it worked. Still, I didn't open my eyes. What if it didn't work? What if I stopped too early and it came out deformed? What if-

"Open your eyes, Perseus" I heard Nyx say from behind me, and I obeyed her. My eyes drifted to the floor, and my mouth formed into a smile as I looked at the ground. It worked. Thank the gods that it worked.

A baby boy lay on the floor, already wrapped up in a bundle. That seemed to come with them. He was awake, staring up at me with curiosity in his eyes. I laughed in disbelief, and bent down to pick him up. The baby squirmed when I grabbed him, and I almost dropped him due to the amount of bucking he was doing.

I chuckled, grabbing him tightly. "Wow, you're gonna be a fighter, aren't you?" I asked, and the baby didn't respond. Of course he didn't, he's a baby. I reached to tickle his chin, but he squirmed again, making me snatch my hand back as if he almost bit it off. "You don't like that? Okay then."

Nyx placed a hand on my shoulder, and I saw Calix and Larissa clapping from the table. Not in applause or anything, just boredom I guess. "What will you name him, Perseus?" She asked, and I stared off into space for a while.

The thought of an old friend briefly passed through my mind, and I smiled, wondring where he was today. "I had a dog, you know. I'd adopted him not too long before I got engaged. His name was Achilles, and I was thinking of naming him that." I told her.

Nyx raised an eyebrow. "Why would you name your son after your dog?" She said, bewildered. I shrugged. "He was a good dog. Besides, it's a better name than Mrs O'Leary." I told her, making her even more confused.

I looked back down at my son. "Yep, that's what I'll name you. Achilles Luke Jackson."

I brought the infant over to the table, squatting down and presenting him to the twins. "Larissa, Calix, meet your new brother, Achilles." The two babies giggled, reaching up and petting Achilles as if he actually was a dog. I smiled, enjoying watching my children interact with their brother for the first time.

If only Artemis could be here to see them.

**Okay, so that one's done. How are we 15 chapters in and only a small fraction of the way through the story? Sorry if this chapter seemed poorly done to you guys. I want to move onto the actual story and finish of this 16 chapters of introduction. We're at 51k words, probably 54k when I put chapters up, and at this rate, it's gonna take like a year to finish and 200k+ words. Just an estimate, don't count on it. It could be like 100k and seven months or something. I don't know. I'm gonna go off and start writing the next chapter.**

**Word Count: 3630**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: It's All Coming Together

**Okay, so this will most likely be the last chapter before the whole Dark Lord thing. Just needed to introduce all of Percy and Artemis' children instead of just flashing forward and suddenly they have five kids. I'm also gonna introduce some characters that I think you guys will like.**

Chapter 16: It's All Coming Together

_1 Year Later_

_Artemis P.O.V._

Thalia sat next to me as I breastfed Selena on my couch, trying to avert her eyes from the sight. I blushed. "Sorry." Thalia put her hand up in a 'don't worry about it' motion. I cleared my throat. "So, how goes the hunt?" I asked.

Thalia, thankful to have something to talk about, updated me on what's happening. "Well, it's still quiet, compared to during the wars anyway. It seems now that they've all retreated into Tartarus. We still do find the occasional straggler or group but we always outnumber them and can get rid of them quick." She said.

I nodded. "And how are we doing on recruits?" I asked her, and Thalia smiled. "We've had five since you left, and no casualties either. Their names are Jasmine, Hayley, Sophia, Britney and Jess. You'll get to meet them when you come back." She said, and I smiled.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to going back to the hunt. Taking care of this little rascal is tiring." I complained, and Thalia laughed. "Yeah, that's what you get for having a kid with my cousin. I bet she'll grow up just as ADHD as he was." I rolled my eyes. "I hope she doesn't. Percy got himself into a lot of trouble in the few years he knew the Greek world. I hate to think what someone like that would be like after knowing the Greek world all her life."

Thalia laughed. "You should include diaper duty on the list of punishments, take off laundry duty." She suggested, and I raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "You volunteering?" I asked, and Thalia cringed, shaking her head no.

Then we heard a sound coming from upstairs, making us look at the roof. It sounded like someone was walking around in my bedroom.

_Six Months Earlier_

_Percy P.O.V._

I sat on the throne which Erebus had previously occupied, tapping my fingers absentmindedly on the armrests. Achilles sat on my lap, watching his older brother and sister play with their toys on the floor by my throne. My other hand was held by him, and I didn't mind as he bent my fingers at odd angles, as if trying to figure out how to break them.

Nyx walked in, wearing her usual black dress and barefoot outfit. She pat Calix on the head like a dog as she walked past, and the baby smiled at her presence. "Nick!" He said, unable to properly pronounce the X in her name. Nyx didn't mind though, she said she found it cute.

"Perseus, may I speak to you?" She asked, and after checking to make sure the doors to the throne room were locked, I gestured for her to go ahead. She crossed her arms. "If you really want to go through with this, you're gonna need some help." She said, and I raised an eyebrow.

"How so? More monsters?" I asked, and she shook her head. "Not like that. I mean close help, not just soldiers. You'll need people to confide in, because neither you nor I have all the answers." She told me, and I shrugged.

"It's not like we're gonna do this tomorrow Nyx. By the time we're able to go through with this, these three will be old enough to help." I said, picking up Achilles and showing him to her. Nyx facepalmed. "Percy, you can't rely on children. You need trained, experienced people, stupid." She sighed, and I pressed my hand over my heart in mock-hurt.

"Nyx, you wound me." I mocked, and she punched me in the shoulder. It reminded me of how Thalia and I would interact. We could never really hold a conversation without one of us mocking the other and getting punched. Nyx smirked as I rubbed my shoulder in pain, and Achilles clapped his hands and burst into laughter.

Nyx's face hardened. "Anyway, you need experienced people, not just your kids." She said, and I sighed. "Well, how many do we need?" I asked, and Nyx thought for a moment. "Perhaps 14, enough to match the Olympian council." She said, and my jaw dropped.

"14?! Where are we gonna get 14 experienced people who will actually fight for us? I mean, we can get plenty of monsters, but as you said, they're not good enough." I said, and Nyx rolled her eyes. "Well, you're obviously gonna be one of them. If you want, you can let your kids join when they're older, making four. Now you only need 10." She said.

"Well, what about you?" I asked, and she raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" She asked, and now it was my turn to facepalm. "You're in on this, Nyx. Why don't you be one of them?" I offered, and Nyx stayed silent for a moment.

She kept opening and closing her mouth, as if about to say something, but she kept stopping herself. Then she sighed. "Fine, now you have 5." She said. I got up, Achilles being picked up by Nyx, and I walked to the window. I looked out at all the monsters hard at work, rebuilding the east wing, fueling the fires below. Some, mainly the ones that had put everyone under the illusion that I'd given them positions of authority, lounged around bossing all the inferior monsters around.

I'd leave them be for now, since it'd be a good idea to keep them all under control. If it started getting out of hand and no one was doing any work, then I'd step in. Then, I smiled as a thought overcame me. If we find a good few leaders to be in this close circle we were forming, then I could just 'demote' those monsters, and have the monsters be led by a certain leader. Still, we needed 9 more before anything like that could be done.

I had no clue who I'd pick. I couldn't exactly walk into one of the camps and recruit people. 1. Since I was supposed to be dead, and 2. If Olympus got wind of my plans then this whole thing could come tumbling down. I would not let that happen.

Then, on the note of demigods, I got an idea. "Nyx?" I asked, turning around. She looked at me, gesturing for me to go ahead. I faltered for a second, wondering if this was a stupid question. "How hard do you think it'd be to sneak someone out of, I don't know, Elysium, Tartarus, perhaps the sky?" I asked, and Nyx's eyes narrowed.

"Perseus, what the hell are you thinking?!" She reprimanded, no doubt about to go into a whole lecture about this or that. I put up my hands first, interrupting her. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I'm stupid, but say in theory, how hard would it be?" I asked.

Her eyes closed, and her nostrils flared. "Well, _in theory_," She said, putting emphasis on the last part. "Sneaking someone out of Elysium, very heard if you don't want to get Hades or Persephone's attention. Orpheus tried taking someone out of Elysium _with_ Hades' permission, and he failed, so good luck on that." She said, and I nodded, pretending that I remembered who the heck this Orpus was.

"Sneaking someone out of the sky, well if you _really _need, and I mean _really_, then I can call in a favor Ouranos owes me. Sneaking someone out of Tartarus however, that's a suicide mission. Only two people have ever escaped Tartarus of their own accord. The rest were released by Tartarus himself. Those two were demigods named Annabeth Chase and…. Oh for fuck's sake." She said, realising who she was talking to.

I smirked, and she sighed. "Alright, who are these people?" She asked, and I stared off into the distance for a moment. "Just some old friends." I said cryptically. It was silent for a moment, before Nyx crossed her arms and said impatiently. "Yeah, well Ouranos won't take that as an answer, so come on."

I snapped myself out of my daze. "Well, from Elysium, some demigod friends name Luke Castellan, Silena Beauregard, Charlie Beckendorf, Ethan Nakamura, and Bianca di Angelo. From the sky, a former Hesperide named Zoe Nightshade, also known as 'The Huntress'. Finally, from Tartarus, a giant and titan named Damasen and Bob." I told her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Bob the Titan?" She said, thinking this was some sort of joke. I corrected myself. "Oh, he lost his memories, so that's his new name. His old name was Iapetus, one of the original Titans." Nyx nodded, then started counting on her fingers in confusion. "That's only 8, you'll need one more." She said, and my smile faded. "We'll figure that out later. Right now, let's go get them." I said.

Nyx nodded. "I'll go to Ouranos, and you get the Elysium bunch. We'll go to Tartarus together, since my brother will be less inclined to kill you if I can vouch for you." She said. I nodded, and as she flashed out, I quickly put my kids to bed, locked the door and flashed out from inside.

I appeared in a field of flowers, probably one of the most beautiful places I'd ever seen. There were flowers of every kind for miles, rivers flowing peacefully beside them. _So this is Elysium. I see Persephone had a lot of involvement in the modelling. Probably for the best, I don't think Hades is very good at home decorating._ I thought, making my way through the field.

There was a small settlement ahead, one of many that I could see in the distance. "This place is huge." I said to myself out loud. When I reached the settlement, I looked around. People of all ages wandered the streets of the small village. Old, young and middle aged people alike all conversed with each other, drinking and eating and genuinely having a good time.

I began my search for my friends, but luckily I didn't have to search far. "Percy?" I head from behind me, and before I could fully turn around I was tackled in a hug by someone. When I managed to look up at them, my eyes widened as I saw none other than Bianca squeezing the life out of me.

Suddenly, her head shot up. "Oh no, no no. Percy, why are you here? Are you…" She trailed off, her hands coming up to her mouth in shock as she got off me. I raised a hand calmingly. "I'm not dead. I've come here because I need your help." I said.

Bianca tilted her head. "What kind of help?" She asked. I looked around. "Not here, and not just you. Do you know where Luke Castellan, Silena Beauregard, Charlie Beckendorf and Ethan Nakamura are?" I asked. Bianca's eyes widened again. "Wow, how coincidental." She remarked as I raised an eyebrow.

"I live with all of them." She said, standing up. She held out a hand for me. "Here, I'll show you." She said, and I took her hand. She ran off towards one of the houses, and I entered after her. I didn't see which room she entered, so I chose a random one and was immediately hugged by some old friends.

I laughed as Luke, Silena, Charlie and Ethan all greeted me, relishing the moment of being with my friends again. They backed up, asking what I was doing here. I sat down on the couch, as the rest of them took seats as well, aside from Ethan who just leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

And so, for the next twenty minutes, I explained to them all that had happened since they'd last been alive. I told them about the war, of my godhood, my marriage, my death and now my new plan. When I finished, they sat there in disbelief. "How… I always knew they were dicks but how could they do that?" Luke said. The only one who didn't seem too shocked was Ethan.

He stood up fully, looking me in the eyes. "What can we do to help?" He asked, and the rest of them looked at me curiously. I smirked. "I'm gonna form a team." I said cryptically. Charlie raised an eyebrow. "What kind of team?" He asked, and my smirk grew. "You'll see."

I cleared my throat. "So, what do you guys think? Do you wanna join me? It beats sitting out here doing nothing." I said, and they all looked unsure. Ethan walked over to me, clapping me on the shoulder. "I'm in." He said. I nodded in thanks, and looked at the other's. Luke stood up, agreeing as well. Bianca joined him, and soon it was just Charlie and Silena on the couch.

Silena looked unsure. "I don't know. What if it fails?" She asked, and I shook my head. "It won't. Trust me." I told her. They looked at each other for a moment, then nodded at me. "Okay, we're in." They said, standing up.

I smiled, and looked out the window. "Come on, it's night time." I said, and walked outside. They walked out to find me looking expectantly at the sky, more specifically at a certain constellation, the Huntress. They joined me in looking at it, and their jaws dropped when it just vanished. Poof, gone.

I smirked. "She did it, come on." I said, grabbing their hands and flashing us all back to my palace.

_Artemis P.O.V._

I stood in my living room, cradling Selena in my arms. I looked down at her smiling form. "We'll give you some dinner and then put you to bed." I told her, not expecting a reaction. I set her down on the high chair, going to get her food. I looked into the cupboard, finding the formula I was looking for. As I began preparing it, over the sounds of Selena's impatient smacking of the chair, my heart suddenly sank.

I dropped the formula, making my daughter look over at me in fright and curiosity. Without even saying anything, I ran out the front door onto the street in front of my palace. It was about eight o'clock at night, so the night sky was in full view.

I turn around about four times, looking desperately for it. I searched the sky, looking at every individual star with fear in my eyes. When I noticed the empty patch in the sky, I fell to my knees. "No." I mouthed silently, looking up at the empty blackness of the void beyond the stars.

She was gone. "No, Zoe, please…" I said quietly, praying that it was all an illusion, that she was perfectly hidden behind a cloud or something. But it wasn't true, there were still stars in the empty patch, just not her ones. The huntress was gone.

My friend was gone.

As I sat on the street, all thoughts about my hungry and tired daughter forgotten, I hugged my knees to my chest, sobbing slightly as I looked up to the night sky.

Please don't leave me Zoe, not again.

_Percy P.O.V._

Nyx and I flashed into Tartarus, looking around cautiously. The coast was clear, so I approached the house and knocked on the door. It swung open, and a very tall figure grunted and looked down at me. I held my arms open like I was about to hug him, waiting for him to recognise me.

We both stood there awkwardly for a moment, him obviously confused as to what was going on. "PERCY?!" The giant suddenly shouted, engulfing me in a bone-crushing hug. Nyx backed up a bit, not wanting to get smashed into a wall or anything.

I heard some cluttering in the background, and a figure about my size when I was in godly form came to the door. The happy face looking at me through the arms of the bane of Ares was scarred with an eyepatch, though the rest of his face looked perfectly fine.

"Percy!" He said, coming over to pull me in for a hug once Damasen let go. I felt a furry body brushing against my leg, and smiled as I heard Small Bob meow from beneath me. "Hi Bob, Small Bob." I said, breaking away and petting the Spartus.

I frowned as I saw Bob's face. As mentioned before, his face was perfectly normal. Short messy grey hair and a grey beard, he looked like an average man in his 50's. The only thing that was different from the last time I saw him, however, was an eyepatch over his left eye, made poorly out of bandages.

"What happened, Bob?" I asked, gesturing to the eyepatch. He smiled, his right eye turning to try and look at it. "When the doors closed, they didn't kill us. Tartarus didn't think Gaea would be happy if he killed two of her children, and he remembered what happened to Ouranos. Instead, he let us off with a warning, and since I wasn't his child, he went a bit more harsh on me." He said, and Damasen rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

I hung my head. "I'm sorry, you guys. If I just held the doors a bit longer, you could've gotten in too. It-" I tried apologizing, but Damasen cut me off. "It's not your fault, Perseus. We chose to stay behind. If we hadn't, they would've just gotten out too, and you would've been killed. Along with- wait, where's the daughter of Athena?" He asked, and my eyes narrowed.

"We're not really speaking anymore. Things happened, and I've moved on." I said, thinking of my wife. The two of them nodded, then Bob smiled. "Did you send my message? Did you tell the stars hello for me?" He asked, hopeful.

Then, my face lit up as I remembered why we were here. "You can tell them yourself, Bob. If you accept, that is." I said, and they tilted their heads in confusion. "Accept what?" They asked, and me being me, I gave a really dumb answer. "My offer."

Nyx facepalmed beside me, and helped me along. "Which is, Perseus?" I realised what she meant and went through the plan with them. When I was done, they looked at each other unsure of it.

I placed a hand on Bob's shoulder, looking at them both. "Hey, it beats being here, doesn't it?" I told them. That sentence alone convinced them, and they stepped out of the house ready to leave. I grabbed Bob and Damasen's shoulders, and we flashed out without surprisingly any trouble from Tartarus.

When we arrived back in the throne room, Silena, Bianca and Luke were playing with my kids, while Ethan, Zoe and Charlie stood by waiting for us. When they noticed us, they stood up, and surprising everyone, Zoe hugged me. I froze for a moment, then hugged back.

She didn't say anything, just went back to stand by Bianca. I cleared my throat, and crossed my arms. "Alright, so I assume you've all agreed to become members of my… uh, council. Yes?" I asked, and everyone nodded.

I grinned. "Good. Now, I've thought it over, and since we're missing a member, I'm going to show you just how much I've grown in power since we last met." I said, and Nyx raised an eyebrow, but she didn't say anything.

I held out my arms, as if I was holding something, and closed my eyes. Even though I couldn't see them, I could tell everyone in the room aside from Nyx and my kids were probably thinking I was insane, but I persevered.

This wasn't the first time I'd done this, so I'll just do it the same as before. I focused my power into my mind and my hands, and thought up an image. I blended Artemis and I together, though focusing more on Artemis so that it wouldn't turn out like Achilles.

Auburn hair, silver eyes, my slight tan and a slim but still athletic body, like that of a hunter's. All these physical traits blended together to make the image of my next son. Once I had a good clear image and some concentration, I focused all my power into creating it.

I opened my palms, and waited for a bit. I didn't want to cease creation halfway through. When I heard gasps from most people in the room, I took that as a cue that I'd done it. I thought over a name in my head, not wanting to stand there for half an hour dumbstruck.

When I opened my eyes, I held out the bundle in my arm, presenting it and the name I'd come up with in my head. "Meet my youngest son, Urion Paul Jackson."

**Okay, I know that was a bit rushed at the end, but forgive me. I wrote all of this in one day, and I just want to get it published. Consider this the end of Act 1 of this story. I know, we're only a fraction of the way through.**

**Word Count: 3589**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: See, Power

**Okay, so now we're on the next part of the story, which actually resembles what the description of the story says it to be. Percy hates the Olympians now and is working against them, all his kids are born, all the main characters are introduced and we can continue.**

Chapter 17: See, Power

_Six Months Later_

_Percy's P.O.V._

A lot has happened in the past six months. Larissa and Calix had started walking and now could move around on their own, the rest of the palace had been built, and my new captains, i.e. the eight people we recruited to help me lead had been training vigorously every day since they arrived.

They were at the point where I was considering sending them on a mission, one I'd been contemplating whether or not I should do it now. On one hand, if I did do it now, the Olympians might get worried about a new threat and prepare themselves, but on the other hand, if I didn't do it then they'd be in a state of very clear power over me.

You know what, it'd be good to test them in the field. "I'll do it." I told Nyx as I stood looking over at all the plans laid on the table. The primordial goddess of darkness raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" She asked.

I nodded. "We want to catch them by surprise, but if we do this, they might begin to suspect something, but if we leave them then they'll be able to take us out in the first attack." I said, and she nodded, collecting up in plans into a pile. "Let's go tell them then." She said, and we left the war room.

We were early on in our plan, we would not be ready to attack for years, but I'm willing to wait for it. When we entered the throne room, which now included 14 thrones, looking much like the Olympian throne room minus the two empty thrones on the end which belonged to me and a goddess of my choosing.

I wonder if they've replaced me or put anyone on the female throne? Perhaps I should get a spy. It would be useful, especially as we come closer to the attack. I wonder who Erebus' spy was? If we can get them on our side then that would be good. It would have to be a god or demigod, since monsters wouldn't be able to do much internal spying and nature spirits don't have as much access to information as a god or demigod would.

The captains all sat on their thrones, Bob and Damasen standing out due to their added height. It looked comical, like adults sitting next to children, yet those children were in their teens. Six of the thrones were empty, since Nyx and I were at the door and my children weren't yet old enough to take their place on the council.

I smiled. "We have a task for you all." This got their attention, as they all stopped talking and looked at me. I cleared my throat. "As you know, Olympus is very powerful. The gods on their council are very powerful. However, there are some that are more powerful than others." I said, and they nodded in agreement.

"As it's been known for a very long time, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades are the most powerful gods, hence why they're called the big three. But a few years ago four gods were severely bumped up in power levels: Ares, Athena, Artemis, and Me." I said, and they nodded again, remembering all I had told them about recent history.

"This huge spike in power was thanks to new weapons being forged for them from the blood of Typhon, new weapons of power to rival that of the Big Three's. My mission for you today is simple. Retrieve these weapons, steal them, however you want to put it." I said, and their jaws dropped.

"What? How are we supposed to steal from gods?" Silena cried, and cringed at how shrill her voice was. "Well, in case you forgot, Luke here stole Zeus' bolt like ten years ago. It can't be that hard for you." I said, and Luke relaxed as he remembered.

Nyx handed me the main paper for the mission, and I briefed them on how it would work. "Okay, so here's how it's gonna go. The eight of you will split up into pairs and get one weapon for each pair. Nyx and I have talked it over, and these will be the teams."

"One: Bianca and Zoe, you will be retrieving Artemis' bow, which is likely kept in her palace. Since it's night, she will have stored it away and gone to sleep, meaning you have to be quiet and undetected. That's a key part of all of these, guys. Stay undetected." I said, and the two former huntresses nodded.

"Two: Luke and Ethan, you will be finding Athena's spear. We don't really have any idea where this would be, but likely in her palace like how it was with Artemis. Be careful though, she might still be awake. She may be a… _night owl_." I said.

No one said a thing.

Still smiling, I tried to explain it. "Get it? Because her animal is an owl, and…`` I trailed off, clearing my throat. Nyx had her head and her hands. "Perseus, you're an embarrassment." She sighed. Luke and Ethan nodded, both at the plan and the comment.

I shook my head. "Just trying to lighten the mood. Anyways, three: Charlie and Silena. You'll be getting Ares's axe. Again, no idea where he is, probably out banging some mortal woman. Let's just hope for your sake that he didn't take it into the bedroom with him." I said, and they cringed at the thought.

"Finally, four: Damasen and Bob, you'll be kindly fetching my sword. According to many monsters, there was talk that Olympus sealed it up in a cave with a very large rock in the way that pretty much only the big three combined could lift. That's why you're doing it, since a Titan and Giant should just about match up. There shouldn't really be any security." I said, and they gave a thumbs up.

I handed the plan back to Nyx and clapped my hands. "Well, off you go then." Pair by pair, after discussing where to head first, they all flashed out to complete their mission.

I went to the nursery to find my children. It was about time for their lunch.

_Zoe P.O.V._

Bianca and I flashed to Artemis' palace, which I knew the location of thanks to my previous allegiance with the hunt. Every once in a while, Artemis would bring us here to stay for maybe a week or so. A sort of vacation home for us. Bianca wasn't a member long enough to have visited before she died.

We flashed to the bushes across the street, on some minor god's property who was probably out having his way with a mortal or nature spirit, disgusting pig.

To our surprise, the lights in the living room were still on, and we could see two shadows inside through the curtains. We shrugged it off, though. We had to get this done.

I led her around to the side, where I knew there was a set of pipes we could crawl up, thanks to hide and seek that the hunters played while Artemis was at meetings. After some hunter parkour, we made it to the balcony of her room.

I managed to peek in through a crack in the curtains, and I saw no one was in bed. Good, that means that one of the shadows downstairs was probably Artemis. Would suck if she had the bow on her.

I pulled out one of my hunting knives and skillfully picked the lock, and Bianca followed me in. The room was tidy, and on the wall was a large display case containing a gold bow. "Bingo." I said, pointing to the display case.

Bianca walked over and tried opening it. "Of course it's locked. Should we smash it? She asked, taking out a knife and holding the hilt above the glass. I quickly pulled the knife away. "No! Remember what Percy said. Remaining undetected is key." I loudly whispered, and she nodded, sheathing her dagger.

We decided to go check on what Artemis was doing, to gauge how much time we had. We crept through the hallway, coming to a stop at the top of the stairs with a direct view into the living room.

We hid behind the railing as we spied in. Thalia was here, surprisingly holding a baby. "Who's baby is that?" I asked myself, and Bianca shrugged. Artemis held a cup of coffee in her hands, and the two of them were chatting normally.

"She's drinking coffee, so she's obviously not coming to bed anytime soon." I said, and we crept back to the room. I pulled out my knife and set to work on picking the lock. "You keep watch." I told her, and she nodded, keeping the door open a crack.

I spent a few minutes trying to pick the lock, even trying a few times to pry it open, but it was a top quality lock. Bianca gasped, quickly whispering to me. "She's coming! Hide!" We quickly threw ourselves under the bed, hidden by the fact that the covers almost reached the ground, which still allowed us a viewing point.

Artemis entered the room, sighing and closing the balcony door. "Stupid lock. I'll have to get Hephaestus to fix it before the winds blow it open at three in the morning." She muttered to herself. Then she walked over to the bathroom, and we got to listen to our former mistress relieve herself for a solid thirty seconds.

"Damn coffee." She complained, exiting the room once she flushed and washed her hands. We got out from under the beds and resumed our positions, blushing slightly.

It took a few more minutes, but I opened the case and grabbed the bow. "Alright, let's get out of here." I said, standing up. As I did so, the floor creaked, and what we heard from the living room made our hearts drop.

"It sounds like someone's walking around in your bedroom." Thalia said.

Needless to say, Bianca and I booked it out of there, quietly closing the balcony door as we left.

_Luke P.O.V._

Ethan and I flashed to Athena's palace, or at least in front of it. We couldn't flash directly to it. The lights were all off, meaning she was either asleep or not home. We contemplated how we would get in.

"Breaking and entering?" Ethan suggested. I shook my head. "If she's home she'll hear. We should go quietly just incase." I said, and Ethan nodded. We snuck around to the back of the house and tried the backdoor. Locked, of course.

"Wait." Ethan said as I started making my way back around. He bent down and lifted the doormat, and our jaws dropped. There it was. A key. We looked at each other in disbelief. "Not very smart for Athena." I said.

Ethan unlocked the door and we snuck in, trying our best not to bump into any of the many priceless artifacts she had. Not because we were worried about breaking them, but because they'd make a lot of noise.

We went room to room, looking for anywhere she may have hidden her spear. You never know with Athen, she many have a hidden fallout bunker where she keeps all her precious belongings. I chuckled to myself at the idea that she buried it in a treasure chest, and how silly Ethan would look digging it up with his eyepatch on.

Ethan glared at me. "What's so funny?" He asked, and I shook my head. We snuck through the house until we came upon a room with light shining under the door. We looked at each other with that look on our face that said _uh oh_.

I cracked open the door a bit and looked inside. Holy crap it was huge. A library three times the size of the Olympian throne room, lined up with rows and rows of bookshelves. The light was coming from the front of the room, just down from the door, at a table.

On that table was candle, and so was the goddess Athena sitting and reading a book. Of course, on the floor by the table next to her was the spear and her shield, Aegis. Just looking at it gave me the creeps. I pointed it out to Ethan and he swore under his breath.

I pushed the door open a bit more so we could get through, thanking the Fates that it wasn't old and creaky. We crouch walked over to one of the tables, hiding behind it. There were back panels under these tables, so we could hide under them out of sight from her. I got an idea.

I gestured for Ethan to follow me as we got to the next to the left of Athena's at a 90° angle, where her items were leaned against. I put my finger to my lips in a shushing motion and looked around the corner of the table.

It was like the kitchen scene from Jurassic Park where the kids look around the corner and the dinosaur is right there oblivious to them. That's exactly what it was like, only instead of a velociraptor it was Athena.

She had one leg over the other, and I was shocked as I noticed she was wearing a chiton. _I thought the gods all wear normal clothes when they're not at meetings?_ I wondered. I was so close I could make out the book title. _Dark History of the US Presidents by Michael Kerrigan_. Of course, non-fiction. Just how she likes it.

I decided that it was now or never and I slowly reached around the corner, where the spear was just in view. I stretched my arm out trying to reach it, and with my middle finger trying its hardest, I touched it.

Which sent it falling over onto the shield and causing a loud crash.

I snatched my arm back, able to hear my heartbeat in my head as I prayed that she didn't see me. It was complete silence, not a single noise aside from the wind outside.

"Hm." She said casually as if it were nothing, and went back to her book.

I waited for a moment, and when I heard a page flipping, I tried again. Now the spear was on the floor, so it was much easier to grab. Very slowly and carefully, I grabbed the head of the spear and dragged it over, and she thankfully didn't notice.

I showed Ethan the spear, and we snuck back out of the palace, flashing away when we were back in the street.

_Silena P.O.V._

Charlie and I flashed to a random corner on Olympus, in the dead of night. It was windy, and I shivered. Charlie smiled, pulling me into him. I huddled into him for warmth, and after a while decided we should get moving.

The two of us walked down the Olympian streets like a normal couple, trying to blend in. Surprisingly, the streets were still fairly busy even though it was not too long before midnight. It must've had something to do with it being a Friday, since there were a few gods and goddesses all staggering around hammered. Not that gods only get wasted on fridays.

We passed two in particular. "Look out, it's Aphrodite." I said, and the two of us looked the other direction, trying to hide our faces. I doubt she would've recognised or even noticed either of us, though. My mother was leading a tipsy minor god presumably back to her place to do gods know what with him. I didn't want to think about it.

Fortunately, as we passed them, we heard some information that was very useful. "I coulda taken him, Artemis." The god said drowsily. Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "I'm Aphrodite, not Artemis. And Ares would've kicked your ass. I can't stand to have that handsome face of yours getting smashed up." She said seductively, stroking his cheek.

The god chuckled, and the two of them continued down the street. Charlie shook his head. "No offence, but your mom's a thot." He said, and I giggled. "Percy's really rubbing off on you with his choice of words, isn't he?" I said. Charlie shrugged. "Just trying to get used to how much things have changed. One of those is the english language." He admitted.

Then I looked around. "So Ares is nearby, is he?" I scanned the streets, looking for anywhere he could've been. Then I saw it, a bar with a lot of gods and nature spirits hanging around. Of course, mom picked that guy up from the bar, and Ares is in there getting blackout drunk. "There." I said, pointing it out.

Charlie nodded. "Let's hope he's passed out in a corner booth or something." He said, and I nodded, hoping so too. I didn't really wanna start a fight with the god of fights. That was not on my to-do list.

We pushed past the drunk people into the bar and looked around. It was packed full of some of the most disgusting people I'd ever seen. Gods sat groping nature spirits and goddesses, some doing so obviously without the person's consent. Others drunk their stomachs full of alcohol and lay passed out on tables. Overall, not fun to see.

There, sitting at the bar, was one Ares, God of War. He sat talking to the bartender, holding a huge cup of something that I didn't bother studying. I pointed him out to Charlie and quickly came up with a plan. He seemed reluctant, but I persuaded him.

Once the bartender had disappeared, I went up and sat next to the god, knowing he wouldn't recognise me. Of course, he didn't, and when he saw me he smirked like a creep. "H-hey baby. How you doin'" He slurred his words, and I fought back a cringe. Nonetheless, I played up the act using the powers I'd inherited from Aphrodite.

I flirted with him smoothly as he drank more and more. I noticed out of the corner of my eye Charlie was getting closer and closer to ares' axe, which he had stupidly left leaning on the bar next to him. I kept up the act, smiling and batting my eyelashes at him.

Ares grinned drunkenly, on the verge of passing out. "How's about we go back to my place, beautiful." He said, trying to charm me. My eyes drifted to the door, where I thankfully saw Charlie rushing out the door holding a familiar axe.

I smirked, standing up. "How about no." I told him, then quickly pushed past the drunken gods and out the door to Charlie.

_Bob P.O.V._

After getting the location of Percy's 'grave', Damasen and I flashed to the site. I must say, for a tomb it was pretty disappointing. Just a mountainside with a big boulder in front of it. Not even any security, just a rock.

I nodded at Damasen, and we one side of the boulder. I cracked my knuckles, getting ready for probably the hardest part of the job. This boulder _did _take all of the Big Three to move, so it was probably heavy. Either that or the gods have gotten weaker since the war. There was hardly any god to titan combat in the second one, so I didn't really know. Olympus just sent out their bastard children to try and stop us. Which, of course, they did.

We got in position, and I counted down. "Okay. Three. Two. One. Push!" I said, and the two of us heaved with all our might. Gradually, the boulder shifted over to the side, enough for the two of us to get in anyway. We entered, Damasen having to bend down to get through the doorway. Percy had given him the ability to shrink down for convenience, but that still left him at seven feet tall.

In all honesty, the room was alright. Kinda boring, just a lot of dust, pillars to hold the roof up and a large stone coffin-type thing in the middle. As we got closer, I noticed there were markings on it. Words, paragraphs actually.

We didn't bother reading them. It was probably just nonsense anyway.

Assuming the sword was inside the tomb, the two of us gripped the stone lid. With a great pull, we ripped off the lid, and indeed, there it was. A golden sword, gleaming even though there was no light. "It glows in the dark." Damasen remarked.

Wanting to get out of here as soon as possible, I grabbed the sword and helped Damasen shift the lid back into place, doing so with the boulder as well when we got outside. Now that we had the sword, we flashed back to Percy's palace.

_Percy's P.O.V._

Now that all of them had come back, they each handed me the weapon the collected. Honestly, I'd never felt more powerful than when I'd held all four weapons. "I trust that you didn't run into any trouble?" I asked, and they shook their heads.

"Ares was blackout drunk, so he won't notice anything until morning." Charlie said, and I nodded. "Athena was reading, so I don't know how long it'll take her to look over at her gear." Luke said. "Artemis was talking with Thalia, so she didn't notice us." Bianca reported. Finally, Bob, who looked nervous and uncertain about something, told of their mission. "No one's been to your tomb for a while, so we're safe for now." He said.

I nodded, smiling darkly. I transformed all the weapons into their respective hidden items, a ring for the sword, a necklace for the bow, a pencil for the spear and a key for the axe. Using a spell Nyx taught me, I bonded the other three weapons to me so they would always reappear on me when I lost them.

I breathed deeply, taking this new rush of power in. Through the reflection on the window, I noticed that my eyes were golden. I spread my arms out, grinning.

"Do you see? This is power."

**Okay, so I'm fine with that chapter, I guess. Next chapter I'll introduce the main character, and then maybe after one more chapter of interim, we can get into the whole Percy vs Olympus thing. Also, do you guys have any Pertemis fics to recommend? I'm running out of reading material, especially on Wattpad. Alright, I'm gonna go watch South Park.**

**Word Count: 3837**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Growing Up

**Okay, I'm having a bit of writer's block for this story. I'm probably gonna do this chapter and maybe another before I get onto the start of the story, as in if this was a book series then that would be the start of the book. This chapter and the stuff I've posted already has just been backstory. I've been getting writer's block for this story recently, so I started a new story that I'll write on the side. I had a few good ideas for it so we'll see where it goes. Anyways, here's the next chapter.**

Chapter 18: Growing Up

_Sally P.O.V._

I smiled as my adoptive daughter Arianna played with her toys in the lounge. Paul sat on his chair reading the newspaper, and our biological daughter Estelle sat on the couch watching cartoons. The two of them were the same age, seven, so we had been raising them as twins ever since Arianna had arrived.

Poseidon had explained everything when he arrived that night seven years ago, and Paul and I were happy to take in the young orphan. Her childhood had gone normally enough, with some minor troubles of being a demigod.

Ari had dyslexia, which resulted in her schoolwork seeming very complicated to her. Either Paul or I would have to help with her homework to try and get her grades improving, and why she wasn't flunking, her grades weren't pretty. They usually averaged around D's and C's, with only a few F's.

We didn't blame her, since we knew of her parentage, but that didn't stop the girl getting upset every time her reports and results came back. Still, we comforted her, and made sure she understood it wasn't her fault, though she was too young to understand why yet.

Poseidon had also told us what happened to Percy, and even seven years later, I still hadn't quite moved on. Every time I looked at Estelle or Ari, I was reminded of the happy young boy I raised into a hero, and could only pray for his soul. He'd also explained that since Percy was a god, he didn't go to the Underworld, rather the realm of Chaos, meaning that I'd never see him again.

That part hit me the hardest, knowing that I'd never see my baby boy again. They couldn't even get his body. Oh, my baby.

Thankfully, no monsters had caused us trouble, which means that either Ari's scent was covered up or there simply were no more monsters. I hoped to gods it was the latter. I couldn't stand the thought of my poor Ari fighting for her life the way Percy had for almost ten years.

Paul looked up at me, and his face fell. I bit my lip, not saying anything. Our children sat absentmindedly unaware that recently we'd received grave news. They'd have to find out eventually, but I'll let them keep their innocence for now.

_Jason's P.O.V._

Michael swung his shortsword at me, the blade clearly weighing him down, as he swung it like an axe. I parried his strike with ease. "Don't put so much power into it, just try and hit me." I said, and he nodded, swiping at my stomach. I jumped back, dodging the attack, and brought my sword back around to hit his. He had relaxed his grip on his sword, and my hitting it knocked the sword out of his hands.

I smiled at my son. "Good try, but you need to make sure you have a good grip on your sword." I told him, and he nodded, going to pick up his sword. "Can we take a break?" He asked, and I nodded.

We were at camp, and I had been training with Michael all afternoon. My son had been training since he was five years old, since we decided to start him when Percy and Artemis' daughter Selena started two summers ago. Usually the two of them would train with Chiron, but occasionally I'd teach my son some one-on-one combat.

Today was one of those days, since it was Spring and Selena wouldn't be arriving until June. Michael went to get a drink, and I saw Piper walking over to me. She smiled. "How's it going?" She asked, I shrugged. "He's doing really good for a seven year old. Could use a bit more work, and definitely wouldn't be sending him into the field anytime soon, but other than that it's great." I said.

Piper smirked. "Remember, Jason, he's just a child. Don't push him too hard, stress can really get to people. Remember reyna in the days after the war? He might attempt to go Kurt Cobain with a stapler like you did." She teased, brushing up against the scar on my lip with her finger. I squirmed, embarrassing memories coming back to me in waves, bad memories mixed in of Reyna beating up anyone that annoyed her in the slightest.

She giggled, and Michael returned now refreshed and ready to go again. I waved at him. "Take the rest of the day off, bud." I said, and he smiled. "Can we go get ice cream, then?" He asked eagerly, and I laughed, looking at Piper for confirmation. She smiled at him and nodded, and he bounced around excitedly.

We passed the Big House and told Chiron where we were going, and walked to my car. I know we were gods and could've just flashed up to Olympus, but it was always nice to get some family time on the road.

We drove in silence for a while, taking in the beautiful Long Island scenery. At a random point, Michael turned his head towards me with a puzzled look on his face. "Dad, where do babies come from?" He asked out of the blue.

Piper choked on air, leaning forward and coughing out of laughter. I gaped, looking at him through the rearview mirror. "What brought this up?" I asked, trying to dodge the question as much as I could.

My son shrugged, turning back to look out the window. "Uncle Leo said that people just magically create them with their mind." He said. "I don't believe him though, there must be more to that, that sounds too easy. It must be very hard, because you haven't been able to make one since me, Dad. Unless you're just incapable of properly producing kids." He said, and Piper would have fallen on the ground laughing if it wasn't for her seatbelt.

My jaw dropped. I didn't know my son even knew words like 'producing', let alone could try and understand why Piper and I hadn't given him a sibling. Of course, there was also the fact that he unintentionally called me 'unsatisfactory' in bed. Piper wiped a tear away as she regained her composure.

I gawked at him through the mirror. "Um, no, that's not how babies are made. Some do it that way, but not for a long time, I'm talking like the primordial gods. As far as I know, only they can do it." I told him, and he nodded, turning his head back to me in confusion. "Well then, how are they made?" He asked, and I cringed forgetting about that question.

"Michael, there are some things that are best left alone until you're older. Remind me on your 18th birthday to tell you." I said, and Piper scoffed. "Pfft, 18? Technically, we were 17 when we had him." She said, and I rolled my eyes. "We're gods, Piper. By that time we were like 20." I reminded her.

Then another thought came to my head. "Remind me to kill Leo next time we see him." I said, and my wife giggled.

We got to the Empire State Building in just over an hour, and entered the building. As always, I had to threaten the guy at the front to get through. I don't know why they do that. They should just sorta learn who is and isn't a god. It was really annoying.

After an excruciatingly long elevator ride, we reached Olympus, and Michael ran out ahead of us. He always loved coming here, and I could see why. It was a paradise, with all the happy gods and nature spirits walking around enjoying the nice sunny day.

It has been this way for a few years now, since the war with Erebus. Ever since Percy sacrificed himself to defeat the enemy. If only he could see what a paradise he created. A place where families can play, laugh and live. A place where nature spirits can come to seek shelter and be safe. A place that is only the foundation of what can only be many more cities to come like this all around America.

New Rome had been like this as well. They were all completely protected by Camp Jupiter and its legionnaires constantly standing sentinel over the west. You couldn't enter New Rome without being spotted and stopped by the Romans, unless of course you flashed in. This had prevented any attacks on the city, and thankfully any casualties for a long time.

We caught up with Michael, who was eagerly talking to a young girl standing in line beside a young woman and a bearded man wearing a green bermuda shirt. As we got closer, Artemis and Poseidon looked at us and waved, while Selena ran and squeezed Piper and I into a hug.

_Artemis P.O.V._

We spoke with the Grace family as we waited in the long line for the only ice cream shop on Olympus. They had come out for some family time and Michael wanted ice cream. Apparently he'd been doing well in his training, which was good. I'd gotten reports from Chiron that Selena had been quite good at sparring against him, despite the fact that Michael trained almost all-year around whereas Selena was only there for the Summer.

At least she inherited something useful from Percy. Everything else was just his looks and complete ADHD.

After the three of us got our ice creams, we went for a walk along the more natural part of Olympus. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was quite low in the sky. Selena skipped along the path as she held my hand, licking her ice cream hungrily.

We reached a nice viewing pointing basically on the edge of Olympus facing west where you could see the beautiful world below and beyond. It was one of my favourite places to go, simply for the heart stopping view.

Selena had almost finished her ice cream, and I stood looking out fondly at the setting sun. Poseidon, who had already finished his, stood with his hands in his pockets staring at all the cities that were in view. No doubt that they would light up like stars soon, once my brother's chariot finally set over the horizon and mine would appear.

We all sat in silence as I breathed in the fresh air of Aether on the bench that had been placed here. All of a sudden, Selena looked up at me with a curious look in her eyes, ice cream on her face. "Mom, can I meet Sally Jackson?" She asked, and my head shot to face her.

"What? Why?" Olympus had left Sally Jackson alone after her son's death, at first to let her grieve, and then later we decided that perhaps it was best for her if she was left out of our world. It would be safer for her. I hadn't spoken to her in eight years, not since Percy had taken me to introduce his fiance to his mother. She truly was a lovely lady, filled with everything I respected in women. Her husband was alright, too.

Poseidon looked back at her slowly, a look of sadness and regret on his face. Selena shrugged, swinging her legs underneath the bench. "I don't know. I wrote about her on Dad's tomb earlier, how I never got to meet her yet all I ever heard about her was really good things. It just got me wondering why I never got to meet my grandma." She said, and my heart simply shattered as she looked sadly at her legs, which were now swinging noticeably less.

I put my hand on her shoulder and was about to explain to her why Olympus left Sally Jackson alone, but Poseidon spoke before I could. "Ah, to Hades with it. I'll take you two. I think it's about time someone else finds out where Ari was, anyway." He said, and I tilted my head. "Who's Ari?"

He couldn't answer me though as Selena jumped off the bench and into his arms, jumping up and down. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She shouted, acting like a teenager who'd just gotten tickets to their favourite boy band's concert. I couldn't help but laugh, and he pushed her off him gently, chuckling. "Alright, you ready?" He asked, and Selena threw her head up and down trying to nod.

He held her hand and I grabbed onto the other, and together we all flashed to the front door of the Blofis apartment. Selena was practically shaking with excitement as I knocked on the front door. The door was quickly opened, and the person standing there gasped.

Sally saw her ex leaning on the doorframe, her son's widow and a small girl standing there smiling, and her shocked face soon turned to one of pure joy as tears gathered in her eyes. She grabbed Poseidon and I by the shoulders and pulled us into a hug, sobbing into our shoulders. "You're actually here."

We smiled, and Poseidon hugged her as well while I patted her back. Selena tugged at Sally's arm, and the woman turned to her, smiling and wiping her face as she bent down. "Hello, who are you?" She asked, and just as Selena was about to introduce herself, Sally's husband called out.

"Sally, who is it?" He called from the living room. Sally turned and called to him. "It's Poseidon and Artemis, Paul!" She said, and immediately we heard footsteps running over to the door. He smiled, greeting. "Hey guys, how's it going?" He said and he shook hands with Poseidon. He nodded at me, knowing I don't like contact with males other than Percy.

"That doesn't matter right now. We've come to introduce you to someone." I said, nudging Selena as the two mortals turned their attention to her. She grinned. "Hi, I'm Selena. My parents are Percy and Artemis, which makes you my-" She was cut off as Sally snatched her into a hug, pulling away to look at her.

Sally cupped her face, tears streaming down her cheeks again. "Oh my gods, you look just like him." She said, and Selena grinned again. "I know, everyone says that. Mom says it's our eyes." She said, and Sally laughed. "Yes, yes you have very much the same eyes."

Selena turned to Paul and hugged his legs, and he awkwardly patted her back, smiling down at her. We heard more footsteps, and two girls peeked their heads around the corner looking at us. Selena saw them first and waved, and they came out. Sally ushered them over, presenting them to us. "These are our daughters, Estelle and Arianna."

They smiled, and we greeted them. Poseidon smiled at Arianna in particular, ruffling her hair. She giggled and the two girls ran off. I nudged Selena. "Why don't you go join them, honey. Make some new friends with your- uh, aunts." I said, realising how weird that sounded. Selena wasn't phased, and ran off to find which room they were in.

Sally invited us in, and we followed her to the lounge, sitting on the couch. She went into the kitchen, returning thirty seconds later with a tray of freshly baked cookies. They were blue, which kinda weirded me out at first, and then I remembered that Percy's food kink was to have it dyed blue.

Poseidon and Paul immediately dug in, and tried one, having heard of the legendary blue cookies of Sally Jackson. I have to say, it was like ambrosia, but better, which wasn't physically possible but I guess Sally Jackson just doesn't care about the laws of the universe.

Sally sat smiling at us, but soon her face fell. "Why did you not tell me earlier? About my granddaughter I mean. She must be, what, six?" She asked, and I couldn't meet her eyes. "She's seven, and well, we didn't tell you because the gods pretty much unanimously decided to leave you out of our world after, well, you know. Now that you had no reason to stay with us, there was no reason to endanger you with the connection." I said.

Sally simply scoffed. "Is this another law you agreed to and then broke, Poseidon?" She asked, rolling her eyes, and I narrowed my eyes at Poseidon. "What is she talking about?" My uncle rubbed the back of his next sheepishly, looking towards the door. "Well, you know the girl, Arianna?" He asked, and I nodded. "She's my demigod daughter."

My nostrils flared. "You slept with a woman even though you knew damn well she was married?!" I yelled at him, and he seemed confused for a moment. Then his eyes darted to Sally and he laughed. "What? No, of course I didn't! Arianna isn't Sally's daughter, well not biologically." He said, and Sally shushed him. "Keep your voice down when talking about that." She said.

I was confused. "What? So then why is she here?" I asked, and he sighed. "She is my first child since Percy, the daughter of a woman from Los Angeles named Kylie Washington. I was there during the labor, and Kylie…. Kylie didn't make it. So, unaware of any relatives, I dropped Arianna off here, knowing Sally would most definitely take care of her." He said, and my face fell.

"Oh… I'm sorry for your loss." I consoled, and he smiled, nodding. "It's okay. I'm just glad I didn't get too attached." He said, and I agreed. Sometimes immortality was a curse. If you made friends with a mortal, then one day you'd watch them die. That's why it was especially bad for people like Percy and Dionysus, who were demigods that became gods. If Percy had survived, one day his last demigod friend would die, and he'd have nothing from that world. It happened to Dionysus a long time ago, but he dealt with it.

Sally broke the silence. "So how is Selena? In general I mean? What is she like?" SHe asked, and I smiled. "I think you got a good idea from before. She's always bouncing around, and she's hardly ever upset. She got that from her father." I told her, and the woman laughed. "Yes, Percy was very much like that when he was young. It was hard to keep an eye on him, he'd always find a way to distract himself." She said.

I smiled, remembering fondly on my husband, trying to hold back tears as all the good memories came flooding back. Our dates, his time spent with the hunt, when he came home from a long day at Camp overseeing all the training and all he wanted to do was cuddle. It hurt that we'd never get to do that again, yet there was so little time for us to begin with.

Selena ran out from a bedroom, coming over to me. She bounced up in front of me, holding my knees. "Mom! Mom! Mom! Can I stay? Can I stay, please?" She asked excitedly, and I raised an eyebrow, my mouth agape. "For how long?" I asked, and my daughter just shrugged, still grinning. "Just a few days. Please? Can I stay? Ari and Elle are so nice! Please?" She begged, and I looked over at Sally and Paul for confirmation.

Sally nodded, smiling. "Of course you can stay, dear." She said, and Selena whooped. I laughed at my daughter's apparent excitement. I stood up, kissing her on the forehead. "Okay, grandpa and I will get going. I'll drop off your stuff later and come get you in a few days, okay?" I said, and she nodded. "Bye, mom!" She said, running back off to her new friends.

Sally smiled, escorting Poseidon and I to the door. "She'll be fine." She said, and I nodded. Poseidon and opened the door and left, nodding at the two of them. I smiled, hugging Sally. "Thank you for letting me meet my granddaughter." She said, and I smiled. "Of course, Sally. It was selfish of me not to for so long." I said, and then I left through the door before she could argue.

I was glad my daughter had made some friends, even though one was mortal. It would be good for her. If only Percy could be here to see his only child growing up.

**Okay, so I wrote that, and expect later chapters from now on. School started up again for me and I'm going through the classic 'Depression because fictional character died'. I recently got into the show Young Justice, and I'm a diehard Wally x Artemis shipper. I know, ironic that I ship two different Artemis'. Anyways, I just finished Season 2 and I feel extremely upset. I just hope to god season 4 fixes it, because I know Season 3 doesn't help much with my depression. It's my most shipped-couple since Pertemis, though Pertemis will always be my overall OTP.**

**Also, let me know if I should include an adopted child for Percy. It would be a girl of Greek mythological heritage, and she'd be raised with Percy, Nyx and his four children. What do you think?**

**Also, please PM me with good Wally x Artemis fics if you know any. I need something to take my mind off of it.**

**Word Count: 3664**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: The Family Is Complete

**Okay, so you guys voted, and as expected, it was a yes! So, I'll introduce her in this chapter, and then in the next chapter, which is chapter 20, the main story begins. Also, still crying over the Young Justice thing, need help. It's so much harder when one of the people in your ship dies, and now Artemis is all alone, and it's really upsetting me. I finally know what it feels like to be a Jasper shipper. Whoops, too soon? **

Chapter 19: The Family Is Complete

_Percy's P.O.V._

_3 Years Later_

I prowled the dark streets, brandishing my bronze sword, Riptide. My children were with me, sticking to the shadows even though it was almost midnight. I taught them well, sometimes moonlight can be too bright. They were older now. Calix and Larissa were 10, Achilles was 9, and Urion was 8. Still, I deemed them old enough to join me on this mission, since it was also a good way to get a feel of their weapons of power.

Los Angeles was not at all quiet during the night, as cars flooded the streets and people walked the sidewalks enjoying a night out. I squatted down by the edge of the building, staring at a particular couple shuffling down away from the nearest nightclub. The woman was stumbling, clearly out of it, while the man, who was very scruffy and dirty, helped her along.

It was very suspicious, and I didn't doubt for a second that the man was up to no good, but it wasn't my problem. Therefore, I didn't need to deal with it. I whistled, waving my hand to keep heading forward, and my children nodded, running out of their hiding positions and jumping over to the next building.

It had been a long time since I was on Olympus, ten years to be exact. I had changed since then. The old me would've gone and beaten the guy up for trying to take advantage of the woman, but the old me would've also compromised the mission for that. The old me was weak, and stupid. This new me was better, faster, stronger.

My children were strong for children, able to scale and clear buildings and rooftops with little effort, all while making minimal noise. We didn't want to alert anyone, especially Poseidon. I had a feeling he'd be keeping an eye on this child. Let's just hope that he's got his back turned.

We looked for the address of one Kylie Washington, one of my father's flings. It has come to my attention that she gave birth to a daughter, the first female child of Poseidon in a long time. That would make her stronger than most demigods, with the Poseidon boost and her birth coming after a long period of abstinence for the god. Aside from me of course.

I'd considered just sending Bianca and Zoe for this job, since they were better ninjas than us, but I wanted to meet my 'sister' personally, with an offer she won't resist. She would be the first in hopefully a large force of demigods to join my cause.

We had gotten out of the main city area into the more residential suburbs, and the jumps were becoming a lot less perilous. We landed on one house and I held my fist out, signalling for them to stop. They did so, looking at me questioningly.

I checked Google maps, looking across the street. Sure enough, it was the right house. A small, family sized home in a not-so well off neighborhood. I pointed at it, and they nodded. Climbing down from the house we were standing on and getting in position around the Washington residence.

For example, Larissa hid behind the car, Achilles hid by the back door, Calix under a window and Urion remained on the roof of the house opposite hidden behind a chimney with his bow in case any trouble arose. I calmly approached the door and knocked.

It was late at night, so no one knocked for a while at first. Then, the door swung open, and confusion reached my brain as a man stood there. He was dirty, not unlike the man I'd seen earlier, and he wore a wife beater and held a Samuel Adams in his right hand.

His brow furrowed, and his eyes narrowed. "What do you want?" He asked, and I smiled, trying to appear friendly for now. I had no idea who this guy was. Perhaps Kylie Washington had moved on? "Good evening, is this the Washington residence?" I asked. The guy glared harder. "No. Now go away." He said, and slammed the door.

I frowned, pulling out my phone and checking the address. No, this is it. I pounded on the door again, and he yanked it open, pissed off. "What!?" He asked. "This _is_ the Washington residence, now let me in." I said, and his nostrils flared. "Listen, I don't know anything about no damn Washingtons, now leave!" He shouted.

"Aaron? Who the fuck is it!?" Another male voice called from upstairs. He turned around, yelling at him. "It's just a drifter, keep watching her!" The guy, Aaron, again slamming the door in my face.

I turned to the corner of the doorstep, opening a shadow message in the darkness. It opened next to my son, who sat crouched behind the chimney, fiddling with the scope he'd attached to the bow, trying to zoom in. "It's suspicious. What do you see, Urion?" I asked, and he took aim, looking through the scope which had zoomed in.

He bit his lip, looking through all the windows. "Got it. There's a man in one of the second story bedrooms, just as dirty as the guy who answered the door. He's going over to the other side of the room and- damn, now I can't see him." He said, and I nodded. "Shadow call me if you see anything." I said, and he nodded. I closed the call, and opened another two, this time to my other two sons.

"Achilles, Calix, get ready to breach on my signal." I said, and they nodded, getting out of their comfortable position and readying themselves. I looked behind me, and Larissa was peeking around the corner of the car. "Be ready." I said, and she nodded, ducking back behind.

I knocked on the door, and the guy pulled it open again. "Okay, what the fuck do you want?! Wait a minute, you guys are cops! Randy, we got the cops on us!" He shouted, smashing his bottle against the doorframe and swinging at me. I grabbed it, headbutting him, and Aaron fell back. I whistled as loud as I could, and the plan was set into motion.

Glass shattered from around the side of the house, and I heard the sound of wood smashing as Achilles and Calix entered the house, and the sound of something hitting the side of the house was heard. I looked up, and there was a rope running from the upper window to the house across the street, then the sound of Urion ziplining across filled my ears.

Glass shattered as Urion went through a window into the room next to the one with the Randy guy. Lariss got out from her position and followed me inside, checking my back. She stood on the guys nuts as she went through, making him groan and me chuckle. "That's my girl." I told her.

She smiled as we reached the hallway, where Achilles and Calix then entered. "No one else, just a lot of drugs." They said, and I nodded. We rushed upstairs to meet Urion, and found him coming towards the stairs. "There's a guy in that room, and he's got a girl with him." He said, and my face snapped towards the bedroom. "The daughter of Poseidon." I realised, and we crept towards the door.

All five of us piled outside the door, Calix and Larissa on one side, and Achilles and Urion on the other. I readied Riptide, and kicked the door in. We rushed in, and before I could see where the guy was, a gunshot rang out. And it was loud.

I barely noticed Larissa fly back in my peripheral vision, and I gave a roar of anger. The guy who was clearly redneck sat on the bed, reloading his shotgun with a girl lying on the bed behind him, bound and gagged. "You fucking cops get outta my hosue!" He said, cocking the gun.

I snarled, throwing Riptide across the room. It couldn't damage mortals, but it could hit objects. It did just that, knocking the shotgun out of his hands, and as my kids went to check on their sister, I went to deal with the guy.

I marched towards him, very pissed off. He back up, but I grabbed him by the shirt, and pulled him towards me. I started out with punching, beating so hard that his face turned into a bloody pulp. He choked on blood, and I decided to end it.

I moved my hands around his neck and began squeezing. He gagged, trying to breath. His wrists moved up to grab mine, but I was too strong. It was futile, and after just less than a minute, he stopped moving, and his breathing ceased. I dropped the dirty guy on the floor, and looked at the girl. "I'll untie you in a minute." I said, turning around to check on my daughter.

The scene was horrifying, and it brought tears to my eyes. The shotgun was powerful, and it left a bloody mess of Larissa's stomach. She cried, gripping her twin brother's hand tightly. Blood leaked from her lips, and I knelt down beside her. "No, no, no, no, no, no. Baby girl, you're gonna be alright. You're gonna be fine, princess." I said, gripping her other hand tightly.

"Daddy, I'm scared. It hurts." She cried, making my heart break even more. I set to work, slowing the bleeding as much as I could with my powers over time. I willed the earth to form around her stomach area, sorta like a corset, and looked at Calix and Achilles. "You'll need to carry her. I'll flash us out of her once I get the girl." I said, and they nodded.

Urion came with me to check on the girl, and I used Riptide to cut her ropes. When I took off the gag, she launched into a hug, and I felt wetness on my shoulder as she cried. "My uncles… thank you." She said, and I nodded, patting her back. I pulled away and looked at her, then my face fell.

Brunette, emerald green eyes, caucasian skin color, wait a minute. "You're not a child of Poseidon." I said, and she shook her head. "My mom is Aphrodite. She left me to my dad, and when he died, my uncles." She said, and my jaw dropped. "You know of the Greek world?" I asked. "Yeah, my dad taught me." She said.

"What is your name, child?" I asked, and before she could say, Urion called over to me. "Uh, dad. A bunch of cars and pickup trucks just pulled up. Wow, that is a lot of rednecks, and guns." He said, and my eyes widened. The girl whimpered. "My uncle called his friends." She said, and I cursed remembering that we'd left the guy downstairs.

I lifted her up, and told Achilles and Calix to grab Larissa, and they lifted her up, her arms over Calix's shoulders as he grabbed his spear while Achilles held her legs to keep her up. We left the room, me going first, with Urion bringing up the rear.

I tried flashing us out, but something was stopping me. "Damn it, there's a barrier. Something out there is not human, and it's keeping us trapped. We're gonna have to fight our way out." I said, and they nodded. We entered the lounge, and Achilles and Calix placed Larissa down behind the couch. We got in position, getting ready.

It would be suicide to take them on outside. They had guns, and Urion was the only one with a ranged weapon, unless you counted the fact that the rest of us can throw our stuff. But still, we didn't have shields or anything. We'd get gunned down immediately.

We heard the door crash open, and people poured in. We stayed close to the door, killing them the second they got in the door. It wasn't long before a pile of bodies was gathering, and I looked to make sure Larissa was alright. The girl sat next to her, comforting her and holding her hand in support.

Not one of them got to fire their weapons, instead being instantly stuck down. We had resorted to using the kitchen knives, since our weapons wouldn't harm them. After a while, there was a gun firing from outside, and I peeked through the curtains. There was a man standing on one of the trucks outside, but I knew better. He wasn't human, though it may have seemed so to them. I saw through it, and realized that the man was none other than a Titan. I didn't know who he was, nor how he was powerful enough to block in a God, but it didn't matter.

"Urion! Get over here, and bring your bow." I said, and he rushed over. I slid open the window slightly, and pointed at the man. "The Titan, he's the one creating the barrier. Get rid of him." I said, and my son grabbed his bow. He rested it on the window sill, taking deep breaths as he notched the arrow.

I threw my knife at the next guy to come in, then looked back just as Urion let go of the arrow. He squinted, then smiled and turned to me. "Ladies and gentlemen, we got 'em." He said, and ignoring his joke, I ran towards Larissa. I grabbed my daughter, and held the daughter of Aphrodite's hand.

"Guys, come on, we've gotta go!" I shouted, and they ran over. They grabbed onto each other as Achilles held my shoulder, and just before the next wave of men came in, we left.

The six of us landed back in my palace, and Nyx rushed over to us. "Perseus! Children! What happened? Whose this? Oh gods, Larissa!" She squealed, rushing over to my daughter. Her face was pale as Nyx held her, and I knelt down beside her. "Can you heal her?" I asked, and she nodded.

I removed the earth cover, and she pressed her hand against the wound. Larissa squirmed, but I shushed her. As Nyx placed her hand on the wound, dark tendrils wrapped around it. I worried for a second, but all doubt faded away.

The tendrils began glowing, and after a solid minute, color returned to Larissa's face as she coughed and the tendrils vanished. The wound was gone, and my daughter sat up, still crying. She began hyperventilating, and wrapped her arms around my neck as I hugged her. I let my daughter cry into my neck as I let out a few tears myself.

"It-it hurt so m-much. I th-thought I was g-going to d-d-die." She sobbed, choking on her words. I shushed her, rubbing her back tenderly. My sons were crying too, and they joined in on the hug. The daughter of Aphrodite stood awkwardly beside Nyx as she rubbed her arm. I let go of Larissa, letting her relish in her brothers' arms as she cried her heart out.

I stumbled over, still upset, and knelt in front of the girl. She was young, no older than two or three. She held Nyx's hand in worry as the primordial goddess smiled down at her. I wiped my tears away and looked her in the eyes. "Look, what you did today. That was very brave of you. You didn't back down, you didn't cry, nothing. Even though all this fighting was raging on around you, you kept your cool and comforted my daughter. Thank you." I said, and she blushed.

"I just, I saw she was upset, and I didn't want her to be like that." She said, and I smiled. I held my hand out, and materialized a teddy bear in my hands. "You have the heart of an angel, little one. Here, take this." I said, and she smiled, grabbing the teddy bear and hugging it.

"Thank you." She said, and I nodded. "What's your name, child?" Nyx asked, and the girl looked at the ground. "Sapphire. Sapphire Reynolds." She said, and I smiled. I held out my hand again, but this time there was no teddy bear. "How would you like to join our family, Sapphire?" I asked, and her eyes widened.

She bit her lip, looking down at her teddy bear. It was new, of course, but it had an antique look. Button eyes, brown stitching to keep the fluff in, and no clothes or accessories for it. She smiled at it, and looked back up at me. "Okay, I will." She said.

I smiled hugged her, pulling her head close and kissing her forehead. She smiled, her emerald eyes staring into mine. "Daddy." She said, and I smiled. I stood up and took her hand, leading her over to my other kids. They turned to look at me, then their eyes drifted to the little girl with the teddy bear holding my hand.

"Kids, meet your new sister, Sapphire Jackson."

**Okay, so now that's done, and the real story starts next chapter. Sapphire's not gonna be much of a fighter in this story, but she'll still have powers. I hope you guys like her, and the chapter as a whole. I can't believe I wrote this in less than a day. Hopefully the same will happen tomorrow, but I doubt it. This chapter was pretty short, since I just wanted to introduce Sapphire before the story got too started. Also, yes, she is pretty smart for her age. Okay guys, I'll see you later. Bye.**

**Word Count: 3039**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: We Have To Go

**Hey, so I'm gonna drop a bit of a surprise on you immediately in this chapter, then later on. For your information, Ari, Selena and Estelle are all 16. Larissa, Calix and Michael are 16. Achilles is 15 and Urion is 14. Sapphire is 9 currently as well. I have no idea how old percy is by this point, probably like mid-thirties technically though he looks like a 21 year old. Okay, I should start writing this now.**

Chapter 20: We Have To Go

_Arianna P.O.V._

I sat on the bed gripping my mother's hand tightly. Estell was on the opposite side, holding her other hand, while Dad stood behind me with tears in his eyes. He'd stayed all last night to properly say goodbye, and today he brought us. I couldn't believe this was really happening. My mom was going to die, and I couldn't do a damn thing to save her.

Nine years ago, my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and it was nine years of treatments that she had to endure. As you can see, it didn't work. Now, my mother lay on a hospital bed, struggling to stay awake. She was tired, I knew that, and I knew she wanted nothing more than to just close her eyes and go to sleep. But I also knew she would never let herself do that until she'd said goodbye to her family.

Because we all knew that once my mom went to sleep, we'd never get the chance to speak to her again. Never get a chance to say goodbye.

Still, even through all this, she never ceased to try and be the greatest mother the world could offer, and of course she accomplished it. Despite being bedridden for days or even weeks on end in recent years, she always went out of her way to talk with us and discuss problems we had with life and school. She was always there for us, though we weren't necessarily always there for her.

She endured pain and discomfort for years just to go out of her way and get that 30 seconds of interaction with us per day. I couldn't have asked for a better mother, but I sure as hell could have been a better daughter.

I cried as I gripped her hand tighter, and my mother smiled at me. "I don't want you to go, mom. I don't want you to leave me." I told her, still sobbing. "I don't want to leave either of you, either. But, my time has to come eventually." She said, but I still couldn't believe it.

"Mom, I'm sorry." Estelle said, and my mom turned her head to face her. "Sorry? What for?" She asked, confused. Estelle broke down, still clutching her hand. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you were sick, I wasn't there comforting o-or helping in any way. I just ignored it. I'm sorry I didn't try to spend m-more time with you w-when I could, and now there's n-no time left." She sobbed, and I almost broke down too.

Mom started crying as well, while Dad just stood behind me with tears running down his face. "Oh no sweetie, don't think like that. Honey, believe me, you did everything just right. I could never blame you or get mad at you for things like that. We had our time together, and I think we spent it well. I love you, Estelle. Remember that." She said, and my sister buried her face into my mom's shoulder, letting it all out.

My mom turned to me expectantly, and I didn't know what to say. "I'm angry, mom. I'm angry at the world for doing this. For taking you away from me. You're the purest human being in the world, you don't deserve this. You deserve to be happy and live out your life, not this. Not like this." I said, betraying myself by letting a few tears slip through.

Mom wiped the tears away and smiled. She always knew how to be the most calming person in the room. "I don't know what you're talking about, Ari. I did live. I lived my life to the fullest, I had children, got married, got an education, and lived in happiness for years. If that's not living, I don't know what is." She said. Then, still stroking my cheek she said. "I want you to live, too. Both of you." She said, looking at Estelle who had lifted her head from Mom's shoulder.

"Go out there and live your lives to the fullest. Go to college, go partying, get a football star boyfriend, spend the next morning hunched over the toilet. Do all the things I never got to do in my younger years. Do it for me." She said, then looked over. I gaze met Dad's, and they both frowned. He nodded, and she looked at me with tears in her eyes. "Arianna, there's something we have to tell you." She said.

I tilted my head in confusion, and Dad came to sit down by me. Estelle also looked confused so I assumed she wasn't in on this. "What is it?" I asked, hoping it wasn't something bad. Mom bit her lip anxiously, looking at Dad for help, and he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Arianna… we're not your real parents." He said, and then my whole world came crumbling down. Tears flooded from my eyes as I stuttered. "Wh-wh-what?" I asked, scared. For the first time in a long time, I was scared.

Mom rubbed my back comfortingly as Estelle looked on in horror. "What? So… Ari's not my sister? Or am I adopted too?" She asked, tears coming to her eyes as well. Mom shook her head. "No, you are our daughter. Arianna was adopted as an infant and since you were the same age you were raised as twins. In reality, Arianna was born two months after you, Estelle." She said, and I started hyperventilating. "So what? It was all a lie? Who are my parents, then?" I asked, panicking.

Mom shushed me softly. "No, you are our daughter, Ari. Maybe not biologically, but in every other way you are our daughter, and we love you just as much as we do Estelle." She said, and I looked at Estelle with fear in my eyes. "So… who are my parents?" I asked.

Sally sighed, and Paul gave her her wallet. She reached in for a moment and pulled out a picture, smiling at it. I knew what picture it was. I'd witnessed Mom just staring at the photo with a smile on her face for hours on end. It was a photo of our late older half-brother, Percy, who died before I was young. He didn't look too much like Mom, she said he greatly resembled his father. Everything from his messy black hair to his sea-green eyes were paternally inherited, apparently.

She smiled, showing the two of us the photo. "You were given to us by the father of your brother, Percy. Your mother had died in childbirth and he was unable to take care of you, so he left you with one of the few people he knew could raise you right." She said, and I looked at the photo. I imagined an older version of Percy, perhaps with a beard, and I realised for the first time that I looked a lot like my older brother.

"So… my m-mom's dead?" I asked, crying again, and they nodded. "She is buried in Los Angeles, at Rosedale Cemetery. Her name was Kylie Washington, she was an actress. Your father gave me this." She said, pulling out another photo.

It was of a young woman, in her early twenties. She was pregnant in the photo, not on the verge of labor but not in the early stages either. The photo was taken at the grand canyon as she leaned against the railing, smiling for the camera. She was beautiful. Long black hair flew behind her in the wind with eyes hidden by aviator sunglasses. Her pearly-white teeth complemented her sun-kissed skin nicely. She was quite fit, skinny but she definitely looked like she could take someone in a fight.

My jaw dropped. "She's beautiful." I complimented, and my parents laughed. "That beautiful is where you came from. It's really a shame what happened. She had her whole life ahead of her." She said, staring off into the distance.

I shook my head and hugged both my parents, nodding to Estelle to get in on it as well, which she did. "Think about it, though. If it didn't happen, I wouldn't have been raised by you guys and been given the incredibly awesome life I had now. Plus, LA is a bit of a shithole, so who knows what would've happened to me there. At least in New York I'm relatively safe." I said, and my parents both looked at each other worriedly.

Then, Estelle spoke up. "Wait, so who is Ari and Percy's father then? Is he still alive?" She asked, and Mom chuckled. "Yes, he's still alive and kicking. It's the nature of your parentage that's the worrying part, though." She said, and I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Dad looked me in the eyes. "Honey, how much do you know of Greek Mythology?" He asked, and what he told me next shattered my world into pieces.

I listened to them carefully explain everything, how I was a demigod, how the Mythology was all real, how all the gods were still alive and lived on top of the Empire State Building. I thought they'd lost it until they said something that completely shook me. "Your brother was a demigod, too."

Estelle's eyes widened even further beyond humanly possible, as did mine. "Percy was a… a demigod?" I asked, still not quite believing any of this. Mom nodded, leaning back and smiling. "You share the same father, so yes. He was also a son of Poseidon. I raised for 11 years, hidden away from all the troubles of the Greek world, until he couldn't stay hidden anymore, and I had to let him leave the nest." She said.

Then Estelle asked the question neither of us had asked in a very long time. "Well, what happened to him?" Mom smiled. "He grew up, fought wars, defeated countless monsters, apparently became the greatest hero in history, and then he… he sacrificed himself to save them… one last time…" Both Mom and Dad's faces fell, and we all sat in silence for a while.

Then, Dad looked up. "Sally… She'll have to go. She won't survive without training." He said, and I looked between them confusedly. "What? Training? Where am I going?" I asked, scared. They both looked at me solemnly. "Ari, there's a place for people like you. A camp out on Long Island for demigods called Camp Half-Blood. You need to go there. When I'm… When I'm gone, Dad will drive you out there. You'll be safe." She said.

I cried, burying my head into her neck. "No! I don't wanna go! I wanna stay with Dad and Estelle!" I said, and she patted me on the back. "No, it's not safe, Arianna. Monsters can smell you. None have shown so far but it's only a matter of time. Plus, you need the training for when it does happen." She reasoned, but I was still unsure. "I don't want to leave you." I said, and Mom just smiled. "You can't, because I'll be there every step of the way."

We all sat there, crying. "We love you, Mom." Estelle said, and she smiled, brushing a stray lock out of Estelle's eyes. "I love you too."

Five minutes later, she flatlined.

We returned home, and in silence, I packed a bag. I only packed what I need. Clothes, my Nintendo Switch, photos and a teddy bear I'd had since I was little all were crammed into a backpack just before I entered the living room. "Ready?" Dad asked, and I nodded. He and Estelle were going to drop me off, get everything sorted and then pick me up in a few days for the funeral.

We all left the apartment in silence, down to the garage and into Dad's car. I sat in the center-back seat, staring out the front absentmindedly. Dad started the car and drove off, while Estelle stared out the window at the buildings passing by.

We drove for a while, but I wasn't all there mentally. I was- no, _we_ were all still trying to grasp the fact that Mom was gone. None of us could believe it. We stopped at a gas station, and Dad handed Estelle $10, telling her to go in and get us some soda. She did so, not saying a word, and it was just Dad and I in the car.

"I love you, Arianna. Don't forget that. Poseidon may be your father, but I'm always gonna be your dad." He said. I nodded, swallowing what little saliva I could produce in my dried up mouth. "I love you too, Dad. And you don't have to worry about being replaced as my Dad." I told him.

He smiled, and then without warning, broke into sobs as he rested his head on the steering wheel. I didn't say anything, I didn't make my presence known, because I knew what he was going through. I finally knew what it felt like to lose someone you love.

Estelle entered the car, silently slipping Dad's drink into the cup holder and handing me a coke. Dad calmed down, wiping his eyes as he started the car up again. We took off from the gas station, silently sipping our sodas as we set off towards this camp again.

"He was a great guy, you know. Your brother, I mean." Dad said out of nowhere, and our ears perked up. Neither of our parents ever really talked about Percy. It was a sore topic for them, so we were excited that our Dad was actually talking about our mysterious half-brother.

"I didn't know him before he found out, but I started dating your mother when he was 14. He was skeptical of me at first, since he thought I was supposed to be her tutor, but when he found out, he was really welcoming and nice. We didn't have the typical hate relationship that children usually have with their stepfathers, in fact, he once told me that I was more of a Dad to him than Poseidon could be. He was a great guy, that Percy." He said, wiping another tear.

I nodded. "How exactly did he die?" I asked, and Estelle looked over at Dad waiting for an answer. Dad gulped. "I didn't get the full details. From what I can tell, there was a big battle against some bad guy. Your brother… sacrificed himself to kill the guy and save everyone." He said, and I looked back out the window.

It was scary knowing that the world I was about to enter had killed my brother. It could just as easily do the same to me. "I doubt you'll have a hard time fitting in, Ari. Apparently everyone loved Percy, so it probably won't be hard making friends." Dad tried to reassure me, but I still gulped. "That just means I have a lot to live up to." I said.

Dad shook his head. "You don't have to live up to anything. You don't have to prove anything to anybody. If you want, you can just get the training and leave, live your life out normally from there." He told me, and I smiled, liking the idea of everything being normal.

I still sat staring out the window, staring at all the signs that my dyslexia wouldn't let me read. Estelle suddenly spoke up from the front seat. "I'm gonna miss you, Ari." She said. I just looked at her through the mirror. "I won't be gone long. Just gonna learn some self-defence and come back home, okay?" I promised, and she nodded.

It was the dead of night now, the only source of light being the headlights shining on the highway in front of us. I started to drift off, just wanting to get the day over with. Estelle was already asleep, and as my eyes started to close, I saw a large bulky shape appear in the middle of the road.

Then we crashed.

Dad cursed and swerved, trying to avoid the thing, and I heard a guttural roar. It sounded like an angry bull, but scarier. I gripped the seat tight, as Estelle was shaken out of her sleep by the commotion. Then, the car flipped.

There was a lot of banging and crashing happening around me, I even felt disoriented as my head hit the roof of the car. My ears were ringing as my vision blurred. I looked out the window. The world had turned upside down, which mostly meant that the car had too.

I forgot about my family for a moment until I heard a groaning from the front seat. Estelle rubbed her head in pain as she pushed a tree back that had poked through the broken window away. Then, she looked over at Dad and gasped, covering her mouth.

Dad's limbs were bent at odd angles, his arms barely moving. His legs were clearly broken and there was a large gash on his forehead. I fought the urge to scream, and he coughed out blood. I unclipped my seatbelt and fell to the ground, or roof rather. Estelle did the same, whimpering in pain as she pulled herself up.

We both crawled through the broken glass to our father, who was struggling to breathe. I cried harder than I had all day. I was prepared for my mother's passing, but now my father? This couldn't happen. Why was this happening?

He tried smiling as hard as he could as I felt liquid pooling around my knees and legs. I looked down, and could smell two distinct aromas. Blood and Gas. The car's fuel tank had leaked.

Dad undid his seatbelt, and we held him as he fell down, cushioning his fall. He leaned against the car door and looked at us. "You have to go. Run, girls." He said, and we both shook our heads. "No, we'll call an ambulance. You're gonna be alright, you-" Estelle said, but Dad cut her off.

"No, listen to me. There's no time for an ambulance. That wasn't a deer we hit, it was a monster, and it's looking for us. For you. You both have to run. If he finds you, Estelle, I doubt he'll leave you alone." He said, and I cried. "What about you, Dad? What'll happen to you?" I asked, and he just smiled and cupped my cheek.

"I'll be fine, Ari. I'm mortal, it has no reason to kill me. It'll get distracted looking for you in the car and then leave. You'll be long gone. Just run up the road until you find a dirt track leading up to a hill. Follow it, and you'll be safe." He said cryptically. I nodded, grabbing Estelle's hand, but Dad grabbed her.

"Estelle, take this. You might need it." He said, pulling out a butterfly knife and giving it to her. My eyes widened. I didn't know my Dad owned knives. And where was mine? Did I not get a weapon? She nodded, grasping the handle tightly. "Okay. I love you Dad." She said, crying her heart out. Dad smiled, kissing her on the cheek. "Love you too, sweetie."

He turned to me. "You're going to do so much good, Ari. Be safe, and remember: when you're ready, come home. Don't lose yourself to that world like Percy. You don't need to fight forever." He said, and I sobbed. This felt like a final goodbye. "I love you, Dad." I said, wondering what would happen to him after we left. Would he survive long enough for the ambulance?

He smiled. "I love you too, princess. I love you both so very much, don't forget that." He said, gripping both our hands. We nodded, wiping our eyes and crawling out the broken window quietly.

We got out, ending up falling down a ditch behind some trees. We crawled away, looking out for this monster, and Estelle gripped her knife like her life depended on it. Then, we saw it. A huge monster, three or four times the size of the average man, with huge horns coming out either side of it's head. It held something like, and I almost gasped as I realised it was an axe.

It approached the car and violently shook it, and I heard Dad groan in pain. Through the moonlight I could see him reaching into the glove compartment for something. Did he have a gun? The monster sniffed loudly, shaking the car again.

The two of us crawled further along, and of course, it all had to go wrong. Estelle was in front of me, and when I took another step, it was right on a twig. The snap could be heard for miles. The monster snapped it's head up and looked in our direction, roaring loudly.

"GO! RUN GIRLS! RUN!" He shouted at us, and I looked at him. He held a match against a matchbox, and I couldn't find my voice to tell him not to do it. He smiled. "I love you girls. Goodbye." He said, then lit the match.

The flame licked the leaking oil, and both the car and monster exploded in a fierce orange glory.

"NO!" Estelle screamed, but I still couldn't find my voice. I grabbed her arm tight and ran up the road, looking for the dirt path. After maybe 100 metres, I saw it: a small dirt path leading up a hill towards a tree. Estelle was still crying into my shoulder as I looked back at the flaming wreck. "Goodbye, Dad. Say hello to Mom for us." I said, turning back around and helping my sister up the hill.

There was another roar, and a large man came rushing out of the forest behind us. Unlike the other monster, he instantly spotted us and charged. We screamed and ran, me still holding Estelle's hand. I could hear the monster's booming footsteps getting louder with every second.

We reached the top of the hill and I kept running, but I felt Estelle's hand leave mine and turned around. My sister stood there, banging on an invisible wall like a mime while crying. My heart dropped, and I rushed towards her. I grabbed her arm and tried tugging, but she could come anymore forward.

Tears streamed from my eyes as my world began to crumble. "No, not you too. I can't lose you too, Estelle." I said, trying my hardest to pull her through. "Please, Ari. Help me! Please!" She begged, and I started hyperventilating, scared and confused about what to do.

Then, something happened that I am eternally grateful for. Without it, I would have lost my sister, and by proxy, the last member of my family. I would be alone.

As the monster got increasingly closer, and all hope seemed lost, there was a silver flash, and Estelle fell through the invisible wall. At the same time, an arrow went through the monster's head, and it just exploded into dust.

I breathed a sigh of relief and knelt down next to my sister, checking to see if she was okay. "Estelle! Are you okay?" I asked, happy she wasn't dead. My sister was hyperventilating, her hand pressed against her chest trying to feel her heartbeat. "I'm fine, just a bit in shock."

"What happened?" She asked, and before I could answer, someone beat me to it. "I saved you." I female voice rang out from the shadow behind the tree. We looked over, and the person stepped out to reveal themselves.

It was our sister-in-law, Artemis, smiling as she put her bow away.

**Okay, so this might be the last chapter for a bit over a week. Probably not, but you can never be sure what happens with school. So, I'll work on it over the week and try to get it published. I leave on Friday to go visit family, so there won't be the usual weekend chapter. Other than that, enjoy your day, and now we're on to the actual story. Rip Sally and Paul btw.**

**Word Count: 4107**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Warm Welcomes

**Oh hi, thanks for checking in I'm still a piece of GaRbAgE. I'm gonna do this chapter to get Arianna and Estelle settled in, as well as sort of bunch the main cast of characters together. Demigod cast that is. Also, help me decide on ships for these demigods, since they're all OC. I'm thinking Michael (Jason x Piper's son) and Selena would make a good couple, but I don't really know for anyone else. Oh actually, that's a lie, there's gonna be two characters who first appear in this that are gay for each other, sons of Dionysus and Apollo.**

Chapter 21: Warm Welcomes

_Arianna P.O.V._

"Artemis!" The two of us yelled, getting up and tackling her in a hug. She laughed, hugging us back as we all lay on the ground. "Selena! Wait! Come back dammit!" A voice yelled, and then an all too familiar voice yelled from closer to us. "Ari! Stelle!"

We looked up, and sure enough it was our best friend, or rather our niece Selena. We smiled as she joined in on the hug, and Artemis patted her back, trying to signal that she couldn't breathe under the doggy pile. There was heavy panting, and someone ran up to us. "Selena! Don't run out here at- Lady Artemis? What are you doing under all that? And who are they." The voice from before said.

Artemis pushed us off, sitting up, and I got a good look at the girl. She was my height, probably my age too, with short spiky black hair with electric blue highlights and equally electric blue eyes. She wore ripped jeans and a Green Day shirt under an unzipped silver parka. Minus the parka, she looked to be the poster child of punk.

"Thalia, I'd like you to meet the friends we so often talk about. The daughters of Sally Jackson: Estelle and Arianna." She introduced, and the Thalia girl looked at us, her jaw dropping. Her eyes lingered especially on me, and she turned back to Artemis. "Sally had another kid with Poseidon?" She asked confusedly.

I glared. That question really ticked me off for some reason. "No! My mom would never cheat on my dad. I'm adopted is all." I corrected, quieting down at the last sentence. Thalia backed up a bit and nodded. Artemis looked sad. "So you found out, huh? I guess that means that Sally…" She said, trailing off.

I nodded. "And our dad, too. He was driving us here when the car got attacked by some monster. He gave us time to escape, then blew up the car along with him and the monster." I told her, and Estelle choked up at the memory that we were now orphans.

Artemis seemed shocked, then her face hardened. "Such a shame that such an honorable sacrifice should go to waste. Depending on what monster it was, it'll be back to life in a month or two." She said, and my eyes widened. "Wh-what!? So you're saying my dad died for nothing?!" I half-shouted.

Artemis frantically shook her head. "Not necessarily. Without his actions, you might not have made it here. I could only just barely hear the commotion when you were at the barrier, so I probably wouldn't have if you were down the hill." She said, and then a hand tugged on her sleeve. "Mom…"

Artemis looked down at Selena, and her face turned to one of horror as she realised what this meant for her daughter. "So… Grandma and Grandpa are… gone?" She asked, tears welling up in her eyes as she sat on shaky knees. Artemis gulped, pulling her daughter into a hug. "I'm sorry, honey. I'd thought she would've held on longer." She said as Selena sobbed.

"I… I didn't even get to say goodbye. I haven't seen them since last y-year." Selena cried, and both Estelle and I joined in on the hug, both comforting our friend and letting our emotions out as well. Artemis shushed us softly. "It's okay… It'll all be okay. They're in Elysium now." She comforted.

We sat there for a while, holding each other close. Thalia had gone off to tell someone name Kyran about our arrival and our mother's death. After a few minutes, the three of us wiped our tears away and we all stood up. I was almost as tall as Artemis now, which was scary. It was like she hadn't aged at all since I first met her nine years ago. She still looked like she was in her early twenties.

Artemis took mine and Selena's hands while Estelle followed on. She led us down the hill, and it was then that I finally got a look at this 'Camp.' It looked like a summer camp, alright. Kinda like one of those ones from horror movies where some masked psycho comes out and chops them all to pieces. It looked like that at night, at least.

There were a lot of buildings, I counted 21 in total. There were 20 little ones, cabins I assume, and then one big one, which was the only building with the lights on. There were some others, like an eating area and some sort of archery range. Artemis led us down the hill towards the largest building, and when we got there, she knocked on the door three times.

It opened almost immediately, and a tall bearded man stood there smiling at us. My eyes drifted down- no not like that you pervert- and I almost fainted then and there. Instead of legs like any _normal _person would have, this guy had the lower body of a horse! Centaurs. I think that's what they're called.

He welcomed us, and Artemis nudged us inside, shutting the door behind her. The inside of the building was quite cosy. There was a fire going in the corner, and Thalia lay on a rather comfy looking couch watching TV. She saw us and sat up, jabbing the sleeping man next to her, who looked to be middle-aged.

The guy choked, opening his eyes lazily. His eyes drifted around the room lazily, spotting Artemis before closing again. "Ah, sister. I see you've brought more fuel for the pyre." He said, getting back into a comfier position again. Artemis rolled her eyes. "Get up, you oaf. These ones are special." She said, and I blushed.

Still, the guy didn't open his eyes. "Oh yeah? How special? Like Big-Three kids? If so just put 'em with the others, then." He said nonchalantly, and I would be lying if I said that sentence didn't unnerve me slightly. Artemis fumed, grabbing an empty diet coke can and chucking it at the guy's head, to which he bolted up.

"These are Percy Jackson's sisters, Dionysus." She said, and the guy burped. "Oh, the royal family! Forgive me, Milady. I shall practice my curtsey." He mocked, and Artemis glared. "You're a disgrace." She said, and he shrugged. "We're all disgraces to someone."

The guy, Chiron I think it was, cleared his throat. "Ah, sir, Sally Jackson is dead. As well as her husband. They've come to stay at camp." He said, and the guy, Dionysis cringed. "Whoops. How did they go?" He asked, and Estelle spoke for the first time in a while. "Our mom had cancer, and our dad killed himself to get rid of a monster just before." She said, and the guy's eyebrows furrowed.

"What kind of monster?" He asked. We looked at each other, not sure how to explain it. "Uh, I don't know. It kinda looked like The Devil. Huge man, two large horns coming out of his head and he had an axe." I said, and his eyes widened. "The Minotaur? He's back!?"

The man jumped up, and both Artemis and Chiron were shocked as well. "You're sure that's what it looked like?" Chiron asked, and we both nodded. "Why? What's wrong. From what I've heard, you guys deal with this stuff on a daily basis." I said.

"Used to. Most of them disappeared years ago, not long after your brother died. It's mostly just been small, common monsters like the giant who was chasing you before. Nothing like the Minotaur has been seen in over a decade. If it's back, then that can't be good news." Artemis explained, and I got kinda scared.

"Guys, come on. You're scaring 'em." A male voice said, as a blonde guy walked out of the kitchen. He held a cup of coffee, and he was in his pajamas. I would be lying if I said he wasn't hot. Chiron frowned. "Michael. What are you doing up? Curfew was an hour ago." He asked, and the guy shrugged. "Couldn't sleep, needed coffee." He said. That was the dumbest logic I'd heard in a long time.

"Who are you?" Estelle asked, and the guy slurped his coffee exaggeratedly. "I'm Michael, Michael Grace." He introduced, holding out a hand to us. Estelle shook it, and then I did so more reluctantly. This guy looked like your classic high school jock, asshole, 'ladies man', however you put it. He basically looked like a dickwad.

Artemis cleared her throat. "Michael here is the son of Piper and Jason Grace, two heroes of Olympus. His father is also the current General of the Armies of Olympus, taking office after your brother died." She said, and my eyes widened. I didn't even know Percy was a general, and what did she mean by Heroes of Olympus? I thought Percy was the only one?

"Lady Artemis, is she alright?" He asked, gesturing towards Selena, who was still sniffling in Artemis' arms. She nodded, and I turned to her. "Wait, why are they calling you 'Lady'? Are you royalty?" I joked, and she gaped. "How dense are you, Ari? You've been in the Greek world for like ten minutes now, with someone named _Artemis_, who hasn't aged at all in the last ten years. What do you think?" She asked, and Estelle gasped.

"You're… you're a goddess?!" My jaw dropped to the floor. I wasn't too bright on my Greek mythology, so it probably would've taken me a long time to realise that on my own. Thankfully, Estelle actually read books.

I almost bowed, but Artemis grabbed my arm. "Don't, Ari. I give you permission to not have to ever bow to me, ever. Seriously, don't. I hate it, unless you're someone I dislike, which you're not, so don't." She said, emphasising the point a bit too much.

"So… what exactly is happening here? I'm really confused about everything." Estelle said, and I agreed, then my thoughts turned to our friend. "Wait… so if you're a goddess, and Percy was a demigod, then what does that make Selena?" I asked, and our friend peeked out from her mother's embrace. "Dad wasn't just a demigod…" She said cryptically, and I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, and Artemis sighed. "Dionysus, Chiron, could you please excuse us for the night, please." She asked, and they nodded. Well, Chiron nodded. Dionysus sorta just sat there staring at the flashy movie playing on TV.

"We shall get them sorted in tomorrow, then. I shall get some of the campers to show them around, and then we'll properly explain everything there is to explain." He said, and Artemis nodded. Selena stood up, walking towards the stairs. We followed her, and Artemis brought up the rear.

She led us into a room, one of the bedrooms, and we all piled inside. It looked comfy, with a queen-sized bed, a couch and a rocking chair all empty and waiting for occupants. Estelle immediately flopped onto the couch, exhausted from the days events. Selena took the bed, so I sat in the chair, grabbing a blanket.

Artemis sat on the bed as well, crossing her legs and leaning against the headboard. The only light was the lamp sitting on the table next to me, and it emitted an orange glow across the room.

When we were all snuggled up and readied for sleep, Artemis stroking Selena's hair, when our sister-in-law spoke up. "Your brother was a great man." Estelle and I perked up, interested in what she had to say. "How so?" I asked, and Selena laughed. "Don't encourage her. She might not stop talking about dad for a few hours."

Her mother just laughed, and kissed her on the head. "Go to sleep, then." She told her. Selena sighed and lay down, burying half her face in the pillow as she closed her eyes. Estelle rolled onto her side, propping herself up on one arm. "So tell us, what was he like?"

Artemis smiled, leaning back as she continued to stroke Selena's hair. "Well, he was everything that most people told you, and so much more. I didn't know him too well during the First war- oh yeah, there were three wars, you'll hear about them tomorrow. Anyways, we first met on.."

_The next morning_

I had vivid dreams, horrible dreams. Most of them focused on my parents and their deaths, some even focused on more brutal ways my mother could've gone. Those ones didn't get to me as much. The past is the past, what happened, happened. I can't change that, no matter how much I wish I could.

Some of them however brought to light what could be, a possible future for my family. Artemis had talked about the brutal monsters Percy had faced, and it came to my mind that since I was the Hero of Olympus' closest living relative aside from his father and daughter, they might target me. If they targeted me, they might also target Estelle.

I was plagued with nightmares of my sister being torn apart by the creature that got our father killed, visions of her being tied up and gutted in a ritualistic sacrifice by beasts and Titans. I started hyperventilating, unaware that I was doing so in real life as well. Before long, I felt an electric pain on my shoulder.

My eyes shot open as sweat ran down my forehead. Estelle stood over me, looking worried. "Ari! Are you okay?" She asked, starting to sound fearful. I nodded, reaching up for a hug and trying not to cry. My sister patted my back calmingly, talking in her best soothing. "It was just a bad dream, Ari. It was just a bad dream."

I'd had bad dreams before, and she was always there when I woke up in a panic. When she wasn't, so basically after we got our own rooms, I would get up and go to her for support. Estelle was a great sister like that. She always supported me in my time of need, and she never complained while doing so.

I looked behind her, and Selena sat cross-legged on the bed, brushing her hair. Artemis was gone. "Mom had to go see the hunters, said she'll be back this afternoon. I'm gonna stick with you guys when your 'tour guides' arrive. If those idiots decided to even get out of bed." She muttered, and I briefly wondered who these 'idiots' were that she was talking about.

Selena started playing around with her hair, as she often did when getting ready after waking up at our house. Estelle rolled her eyes. "Why do you take so long to get dressed? It's not hard to just put your hair in a braid and go downstairs." She complained, and Selena stopped, staring her dead in the eyes. "And what if I don't want a braid?"

Estelle had no words, then sighed and put her head in her hands. "Fine. Just hurry up, for Christ's sake!" She said. Selena held up a finger mockingly. "Wrong deity, Stelle. We're in the Greek world now, you look stupid if you mention that religion around here." She reminded my sister.

"You girls want a braid?" She asked, and Estelle adamantly shook her head no. I shrugged. Selena was always good with my hair. Whenever she stayed with us I always got her to teach me how to do it. Of course, I'd forget by the time she left, but at least I got to rock a pretty hairstyle for a day. "Sure. Work your magic."

She smiled, patting the spot in front of her as she finished herself. She ended up going with her hair down, and her left eye completely covered by her black locks. "Let's go with that." She said as I sat down in front of her and she went to work.

Estelle was sitting on the chair now, tapping her foot impatiently. She was surprisingly taking this all very well, especially considering she herself had no Greek blood in her. After awhile, Selena pulled up a mirror to my face, and I smiled at the design.

It was a simple waterfall braid, but she'd somehow done it in a way that made the separate strands of hair looking like water was constantly flowing down. I don't know if she used some sort of Greek magic or if she was just that good, but it was beautiful.

"Thanks." I said, and she kissed me on the cheek. "No problemo, Ari." Estelle looked at her watch, but before she could say something undoubtedly along the lines of 'can we go now?', the door slammed open.

Three guys poured in, all completely different in size. One was about average height, skinny and with straight blonde hair that gleamed in the little sun shining through the window. He smirked, showing off pearly white teeth that contrasted well with his emerald eyes. "Ah, so they _are_ awake! Thought we'd never see them." He remarked, smiling at Estelle and I.

The middle guy, a bit over average height with curly brown hair and purple eyes laughed. "I thought they'd gotten stage fright for a minute, or that _Lena _here had snuck them out the back door while we weren't looking." He joked, saying the name Lena mockingly while our friend glared.

"Shut your cockhole, Crass-ass!" She shouted, and both the skinny guys hissed in mock-fright. "Forgive me, _Princess_. I simply wanted to come meet to noobs, here." He said, still with the fake fear in his voice. The blonde guy laughed, and Selena looked on the verge of snapping her hairbrush and stabbing the guy with the sharp, broken pieces like it was glass.

The third guy, a tall, muscular black kid with a buzz cut placed his hand on 'Crass-Asses' chest, blocking him. "Come on, guys. We're supposed to show the new kids around, not tease Selena. I know your rivalry runs deep but can you two just shut up for once?" He asked, looking at Selena too.

She huffed, crossing her arms and looking at the wall. The purple-eyed kid scoffed. "Pfft, as if! Hawkeye won't agree to a ceasefire for anything. She always was a hothead-" The kid didn't get to finish before Selena had him pinned to the ground. She then fulfilled my prediction of smashing the hairbrush and holding the sharp end to the kid's throat as he desperately tried to stop his throat getting stabbed.

He was right, she always was a hothead.

The large kid and I grabbed Selena, pulling her off. "Dude, cool it! Let's just get this over with." I told her, and took a few deep breaths, calming herself while nodding. The kid rubbed his sore neck as he got chewed out by the guy as well, and after a minute, all three of them turned to us.

"Well then, where are our manners. I'm Alexandre, but you can call me Alex." The blond kid said, holding out his hand. I shook it politely, and so did Estelle. Selena ignored it, of course. The bulky kid stepped forward, looking like a soldier as he stood up straight. "Aaron, Aaron Wilson. I'm a son of Ares, the God of War." He introduced.

Finally, the annoying kid grinned. "Hey! The name's Crassus, or as Lena so nicely put it, _Crass-ass_. I'm a Dionysus kid. Not to sound spoiled or anything, but he runs this place, so I'm kinda the cool kid around here." He said, and everyone apart from Estelle and I scoffed.

"Crassus, you know that's not true. No one gives a shit about you being Mr D's kid, so shut it." Alex laughed, elbowing him, and I cringed. "That slob I met last night was your dad? I can see where you get it from, then." I remarked, and he pouted, pulling an 'L' on me.

"Well, I'm Estelle, and this is Arianna. We're new here, as you probably know." She introduced us, and they all nodded. "Of course. The daughter of Poseidon and her mortal sister. Perseus' sisters." Aaron said, opening the door. "Shall we be off?"

Of course, the other two boys left before us, and Aaron smiled. "Ladies first," Making the other two groaned as they realised they'd been fooled. We all smirked and left, Aaron closing the door behind us.

We walked down the stairs to find Artemis chatting with two people in the living room. One was a brown-haired woman who looked like she was a Native American, or at least of Native American blood. She wore a green flannel shirt with ripped jeans and black sneakers. She was smiling as she saw us come down.

The other man was blonde, tall and muscular. His arms were crossed over a faded purple t-shirt with had gold words imprinted on it that I couldn't read. As I looked at him for longer, I realised that he looked a lot like the kid I'd met last night, Mic-

"Ah, the Sleeping Beauties are up." I heard the familiar voice of the kid who had been drinking coffee the night before. All three adults looked at us, and Artemis smiled. "Ah, girls, come meet some friends of mine." She invited, and we walked into the living room.

The woman shook my hand first, while the man went to Estelle. She hugged me, which was awkward at first, but I hugged back. "Hey! I'm Piper Grace, Michaels mom. I'm a minor goddess and I was a good friend of your brother's. He was a good man." She consoled, and I nodded. I was kinda getting annoyed by all the people bringing up Percy. I'd never met the guy, it's not like I was still grieving him.

I met the man next, and briefly noticed a scar above his lip as he stared down at me solemnly. "Jason Grace, God of Thunder, Head of the Olympian Royal Guard, Conqueror of Othrys, Former Hero of Olympus, Former Praetor of the Twelfth Legion and Second General of the Armies of Olympus." He introduced.

I nodded. "Arianna Bl- Washington. Arianna Blofis Washington. I'm a- a daughter of Poseidon." I said, blushing at my stuttering. He smiled, clapping me on the back. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.

**Okay, well I actually finished this one before I left, so enjoy! There won't be a chapter for a few days, since I'm going away tomorrow. So you met three new characters: Aaron, Crassus and Alex. I've decided to make two of them gay for each other, and I'm pretty sure it'll be Crassus and Alex. If you want me to change that then please PM or review your idea. I started doubting that ship while writing this, but I think I'll go through with it.**

**Also, I wrote my first Young Justice fanfic yesterday. It's a oneshot based on a true story from the darker moments of my life. I know most of you probably don't even like Young Justice, but if you do, I implore you to go check it out. I'm quite proud of it.**

**Word Count: 3979**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Strike

**I'm baaaack. I know you probably didn't notice, but I sure did. I've missed writing these. It's a good past time for me. I'm gonna work on this chapter and another YJ fic at the same time so this might take longer than it usually does to write. Also, I'm doing Crassus x Selena, Ari x Michael and Alex x Aaron**

Chapter 22: Strike

_Arianna P.O.V._

It's been two months since I arrived at camp. The people here are really friendly, and even though Estelle and I are the only ones in the Poseidon cabin, we never find ourselves short of friends. It was August, so Selena was still at camp, though she'd be leaving in two weeks with her mother and the hunters.

During the tour that Crassus, Alex and Aaron gave us, we'd been introduced to most people around camp, and none of them were unfriendly. A few of the Ares campers seemed a bit arrogant and annoying, but they weren't outright mean. Estelle hadn't found ourselves any close friends aside from Selena and the three guys, but Michael came pretty close.

The son of Jason never really joined in on our activities, choosing to just train and run errands for various gods. Sometimes he'd come join us at the lake on a Friday night, but most of the time he was away, and we only saw him during sparring. The gods really liked to work him.

Oh yeah, the gods.

Many had visited camp since we arrived, usually to see their kids, other times they were on official business like with Mr D or Jason. The day after we'd gotten here, when our tour was already finished, Aphrodite had flashed in to speak with Piper, and we immediately caught her eye.

"Oh my, who are these beautiful young vixens?" She'd asked Piper, looking at the two of us kinda weirdly. Like lustfully. I wasn't aware I was _that_ pretty, nor that Aphrodite swung that way as well. Piper introduced us and we shook the goddess' hand, noting that she held on for a bit longer than normal.

I'd also met my father, Poseidon, who flashed in a few hours after Aphrodite. He was panting, his eyes zooming around the dining hall as he searched for me. I'd been staring at him the whole time, trying to deduce if he was the person I thought he was. Estelle noticed my gaze, and followed it to the man. She gasped as Chiron stood up.

"All hail Lord Poseidon, God of the seas, eart-" He'd started, but Poseidon interrupted him. "Are they here, Chiron?" He asked, not having time for the formalities. The centaur sighed, nodding to the Poseidon table. It's a wonder why he didn't check there first.

The god ran past the tables, ignoring bowing heads and greetings as he reached us. When he did so, we'd already stood up, and he pulled us both into a tight hug. My face turned red in embarrassment, and I put a hand on his shoulder as I pushed him away slightly. "Can we do this somewhere else."

We went back to the Poseidon cabin, and once there, he pulled us both into a hug again. "Are you girls okay? I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner, Aphrodite just visited me to tell me how att- Nevermind. Again, are you okay?" He asked, pulling away and looking at us both.

I nodded, my mouth dry, but Estelle spontaneously broke into tears. "NO WE'RE NOT OKAY! OUR PARENTS ARE DEAD!" She screamed, and Poseidon stepped back in shock. "I- I didn't mean it like that. I know you're not… I'm sorry…" He said, swallowing,

I struggled to keep in the tears as well. Neither of us had properly sat down and grieved yet. Ever since we'd got here, we just put aside the fact that we'd watched both of our parents die in front of us in favor of not looking like huge sissies. Even when we were alone in the cabin earlier, we didn't cry or even talk about it, because the rest of the camp would notice our tear-stained faces at dinner.

We were struggling to find the right time to properly grieve them, but even now I felt it wasn't the right time to cry over my parents. Not with my biological father standing in front of me. I just felt hollow and scared. Estelle obviously didn't feel the same way, as Poseidon held her close and comforted her.

Eventually, she calmed down, and Poseidon smiled. "You look so much like Sally, you know." Estelle nodded, wiping away a stray tear. "I know, people have told me that." She said. Then, for the first time in a while, Poseidon's attention was turned to me. He grinned, pulling me into a hug as well. I didn't fight back, rather I rested my head on his shoulder as I kept fighting back tears.

"It's okay to cry, Arianna. No one will judge you, you've been through enough." He tried, but it didn't work. I just nodded and pulled away from the hug, and still not a single tear had been shed by me.

He sat down, patting the spots on the bed beside him. "Come. Let's get properly acquainted." He said, and we did so.

So yeah, that was the first time I'd ever met my father, and it was two months later when I stood with my sword drawn as my opponent charged. I braced myself, waiting for the heavy blow that would no doubt come. The enemy reached me, but instead of hitting my sword straight on like I thought he would, he went for a strike to my leg.

I had fast reflexes though, and quickly blocked his strike, spinning around with the motion to knock him back. He dodged it, and a well-timed strike with the hilt of his blade to the side of my head sent me sprawling to the ground. I groaned, clutching my sore skull as he laughed. "Seriously? Two months in and you still haven't beat me, Ari? I must be pretty powerful to be able to beat Percy Jackson's sister." Michael Grace mocked.

I glared and stood up, smiling as Selena stood up from her spot by the group. "Oh yeah? You still have a lot of trouble beating his daughter." She mocked, and Michael glared, immediately challenging her to a duel. "Sure, Baywatch. Let's rumble." She said, referring to the fact that he had no shirt on.

I laughed, returning back to my friends as we watched the fight. Aaron congratulated me on lasting so long. "You're getting better." He noted, and I smiled. Then I frowned again as I looked back at Michael. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked to my left, Alex sat looking at with a grin on his face. "Don't mind him. He's an a-hole." He said.

I nodded. "I'm well aware how much of an a-hole he is." I told them, watching as Selena and Michael fought it out. They were actually quite evenly matched, though Selena usually had some sort of trick up her sleeve that immediately ended the fight. That was what Michael always said anyway.

Of course, as usual, Selena won. This time when they were both worn out and tired, as Michael went for a wide swing, Selena kneed him in the balls and he curled over, clutching his junk in pain. She laughed in triumph, which due to her tiredness ended up sounding like the laugh from that Grandmaster Flash song that I'd heard on the radio a few times.

We all congratulated her, and Crassus clapped Michael on the back sympathetically. He glared at the son of Dionysus, but didn't say anything as he went to get a drink. As we chatted a bit more, I was faintly aware of Artemis approaching us. She cleared her throat, and all the guys bowed to her, hoping they wouldn't get blasted into pieces for 'Being so disrespectful.'

She nodded towards them, then smiled towards us. "Estelle, Arianna, may I speak to you?" She asked, and we obliged, standing up and telling our friends we'd be back soon. We followed her in the direction of Camp, and she complained to us. "I don't like the way Selena's dressed right now."

I laughed. I could understand why she felt that way though. Selena was wearing a white tank top and black skinny jeans, certainly enough to turn a guy's eye. "It's not 1850, Artemis. Women are allowed to show off skin nowadays." Estelle reminded her, rolling her eyes. Artemis nodded, still frowning. "I know, but I just don't like the thought of those _boys_ staring at my daughter like she's a piece of meat." She said.

I laughed. "Don't worry Artemis. They're all too busy sucking each other off to notice a girl. Besides, I'm sure you dressed the same way with my brother around." I said, and Estelle punched my arm when I mentioned the gay part. Artemis blushed. "That was different. We were together, so it was okay for me to do that. I know she hasn't taken the maiden oath or anything, and I'm fine with that. I just don't want my daughter to become Aphrodite's protege." She cringed at the thought.

I rolled my eyes as we reached the Artemis cabin. "You're overthinking it. Now, what did you want to talk to us about?" I asked as Artemis opened the door and let us in. "I have to ask you something." She said, as we entered the cabin.

It was the same size as the Poseidon cabin, but with way more beds. Instead of having multiple rooms like the Poseidon cabin, it was bunk beds lining both walls with room to walk in between, and down the opposite end from the door was another room. I assumed it to be Artemis'.

Thalia stood up, grinning. "Did you accept?" She asked, and Estelle and I looked at her confused. "Accept what?" Artemis cleared her throat from behind us, and as all the hunters got up and surrounded us, she smiled.

"I've been thinking recently, and I've decided to offer you two positions among the Hunters of Artemis. Accepting would mean you gain semi-immortality and pledge the maiden oath, along with the perk of gaining an eternal sisterhood. So, what do you say?" She asked with a hopeful glint in her eyes.

The hunters all looked on eagerly, waiting to see what our answer was. Estelle and I looked at each other, shock on our faces. I bit my lip, considering the answer carefully. Then I nodded at her, signalling for us to say our answers at the same time so that we won't be swayed by the other's opinion. She nodded back, and we both looked back at our sister-in-law.

"I accept."

"No thanks."

The two of us looked at each other, slightly shocked. Even though we both knew the other might have a different opinion, it didn't occur to me that Estelle might accept. She smiled, and I couldn't help but smile back. Artemis was beaming at her. "Great! Now Estelle, repeat after me. I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I accept the oath of eternal maidenhood and vow to keep myself from the touch of a man forever, or until I find the one my soul is meant for. I pledge myself to the Hunters of Artemis from now until death."

Estelle gulped, repeating the oath word for word. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I accept the oath of eternal maidenhood and vow to keep myself from the touch of a man forever, or until I find the one my soul is meant for. I pledge myself to the Hunters of Artemis from now until death." She said, and Artemis smiled. "I, Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, accept Estelle Blofis into the Hunters of Artemis. Welcome to the Hunt, Estelle." She said.

The Hunters were very pleased with their newest member.

Selena was equally pleased, though very surprised that she'd chosen to join. "Why not stay here with Ari and our friends?" She had asked, and I looked at her wondering the same thing. Estelle shook her head. "These past couple of months, I've realised something. I'm not like you guys. I'm mortal. I have no reason to stay in this world." She said, and I knew she was right. I had known that for a while.

"Artemis offered me a reason to stay, so I took it. It was either that or go home, where I'd probably end up with child services or something. I don't want to be alone, so I'm staying. Maybe not at camp, but I'm staying." She told us. Selena launched into a hug, and soon I joined too.

Later on we were having dinner, the three of us sitting at the Poseidon table. Selena could sit in multiple tables, namely the Zeus, Artemis and Poseidon tables, thanks to her being a favourite of her grandfathers'. Estelle chose not to sit with the Hunt. She'd have plenty of time to get to know them once the Hunt left camp.

It came to my mind that in only a few weeks, I'd be alone at this table. Selena and Estelle would ship out with the hunt, my other friends would sit at their parent's tables (Or in Michael's case, his grandfather's table), I'd be all alone.

We were playing a game with our drinks, trying to throw the ice cubes from our drinks into each other's glasses. Sure, it wasn't very sanitary, but it was fun. I took note of the fact that the whole head table was watching us play. Time to step up my game.

Unfortunately, right as my ice cube splashed into Selena's pepsi, a horn sounded. Everyone snapped their heads up to look in the direction of the horn, and all four gods plus Chiron paled. Most of the campers had no idea what was going on, myself included, but then many of the councillors stood up and shouted. "Attack! Camp's under attack!"

The campers all burst into a panicked frenzy, running around unsure of what to do. Most of them were barely trained, and had no idea what to do in this situation. The councillors were all barking orders as Chiron tried to calm everyone down. Absolutely no one was prepared for the attack.

They came fast, so fast that I can hardly remember what happened. The ground was shaking violently, and we all froze as our heads turned towards the hill. A very large force of what I can only describe as pure monstrosities flooded over in swarms.

Giant men with one eye, dogs the size of rhinos, and huge armed men not unlike the one that had attacked us on our first day were only a few of the types that charged down towards us. Monsters came from all sides but behind, roaring loud enough to rival a barrage of gunshots.

There was no hope of organizing the campers after that, as they all just ran around like headless chickens as the monsters attacked. I managed to get separated from my friends in the crowd. All I could see was either monsters or campers running around me.

I smelled smoke, only then noticing that most of the tables were on fire. A gap in the crowd formed and I slipped through, now able to breathe and think. Many bodies lay around me, all of them campers. I spun around, trying to figure out where I was.

Jason and Piper were fighting back to back, managing to kill many of the monsters. They couldn't take them all though, and soon Jason was pushed to the ground by one of the cyclopes. Piper screamed, and was then kicked into a wall by another one.

I gasped, realising that two _gods_ had just been defeated. They were too fast, no one could keep up with the monsters. They just kept coming, too. I had no idea where Chiron or Mr D were, nor my friends. I was all alone in the chaos.

"Ari! Ari!" I heard my name being shouted. Over by the forest, I could see the hunt, all firing down upon the horde. Selena, Estelle and Artemis were with them, the first two yelling my name while the goddess picked off the particularly large ones.

I ran as fast as I could, pushing past monsters and even some campers to get to my location. It was like a stampede! Eventually, I broke out of the main horde, and reached my friends.

Selena and Estelle pulled me into a hug as I looked over the camp.

It was complete chaos. Bodies lay strewn across the ground as the campers started to try and fight back. Many of the monsters were targeting the buildings, setting fire to them with torches and roaring as the wooden structures slowly burned.

I couldn't spot our other friends amongst all that was happening. Estelle and Selena let go of me, and the Hunt stopped firing. "We need to go. Olympus will be safe." Artemis told us. Usually, I would've argued against this, saying we've got to help them, but I couldn't find my voice.

The hunt all grabbed hands while Artemis held onto one of them and me. As we flashed away, I took in the scene. I'd heard stories of many battles being fought at this camp, and Olympus prevailed every single time. Now it was different.

What Titans, Giants and Monsters have been trying to do for centuries, these monsters did in only a few minutes. They successfully destroyed Camp Half-Blood, and a large part of our army with it.

**I know this chapter is really late, but I got sidetracked. I wrote two oneshots during this, as well as started writing a fan-suggested fic and two halloween oneshots. Those shall all be out soon, but I thought I'd better update this first since I was so behind. What should I call Percy's army?**

**Word Count: 3025**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Pleased To Meet You

**Okay, so I've noticed a lot of reviews complaining about how the story's really focused on his children. This is a Pertemis story, and no other relationships will really be focused on, but I want a plot. Sometimes to get a plot, you can't focus on the same two people the whole time. Don't worry though, it's about this point in the story where it starts focusing on Pertemis again. Also, I wrote a lot of oneshots recently. One I had to take down because of some community guidelines rule that basically said I can't just copy paste song lyrics into it. I didn't even know that was a rule, since I've seen plenty of songfics before.**

**I wrote a particularly disturbing fic called Taste, which I'm thinking about updating. It is **_**really **_**fucked up though. It involves cannibalism, an orgy, and Pertemis. Go check it out if you want.**

Chapter 23: Pleased To Meet You

_Artemis P.O.V._

We flashed onto Olympus, and I hurried the Hunt to the throne room. We couldn't waste time, not with what just happened. I ran ahead, the hunters all trying to keep up with me. They were tired, having been caught off guard. I couldn't stop to make sure they were alright, I had to warn the council.

I burst into the throne room, literally charging the large metal doors with my shoulder, and approached the middle of the room panting. My father was on his throne chatting with Ganymede when he saw me. His face morphed into one of immediate concern. "Daughter, what troubles you?" He asked, seeing my hunters and the children of Sally Jackson entering the room behind me.

I didn't answer him, instead pulling out my bow and firing at the ceiling, effectively summoning the council. They all flashed in within the next minute, save for Dionysus. I don't know what happened to him, but I'm guessing he ran off. My half-brother was never much of a fighter.

Zeus broke the chatter by silencing everyone, and I went to sit down on my throne. The hunters all respectfully shut up and sat around me, but I could see they were pretty impatient. "So, Artemis, why have you summoned the Olympian council?" Zeus asked, raising an eyebrow in slight boredom.

I was still breathing heavily, the flash and running having sapped most of my energy. "The camp… there was- there were too many. They were too f-fast." I struggled with my words, feeling like I was about to have a stroke. Most of the gods paled. "Is the camp under attack?" Poseidon asked, worried.

I sat up, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a drachma. "Iris." I said, summoning her. The goddess flashed in confused, and I held out the coin. "I don't have time, so just take this and show us something." I said, and she raised a hand. "Keep it, Artemis. I work for free in person, unless I don't like you. So what do you want to see?" She asked as I pocketed the drachma.

"Show us Camp Half-Blood please." I asked, and she nodded. Iris worked her magic, and then in front of us was a misty screen. It showed a scene I did not want to see at all, and had hoped we would not see.

Camp Half-Blood was hardly intact, with many of the buildings burning. Monsters still inhabited the area, though now they weren't charging down the hill. Most of them just roamed around, adding fuel to the fire or collecting bodies.

Oh yeah, the bodies.

Dozens of demigods lay on the ground, bruised and bloodied. I couldn't tell if they were dead, but I assumed they were. Monsters wouldn't have mercy on demigods. They were collecting the bodies and bringing them all somewhere. The view changed, so we saw exactly where they were going. Right in the middle of camp, out in front of all the cabins, there was a huge hole, big enough to fit an elephant in it. You couldn't see the bottom, and all of us gulped as we guessed where it went.

"Tartarus." Athena paled, speaking most of our minds. I could only cover my mouth as the monsters continually dumped the demigods into the hole. Then, we watched as two monsters came forth, holding a conscious and struggling figure. Horse legs kicked at the Minotaur, but he didn't budge. We all gasped as the centaur was dragged closer to the pit. "Chiron!" Zeus shouted, like someone down there would hear him.

We all stared in shock as the centaur tried his best to break free, but it was no use. The Minotaur let go of him, then with one furious kick to the chest, Chiron was sent plummeting down into the depths of Tartarus.

There were two more flashes, and Jason and Piper appeared in the throne room. Piper was clutching her side in pain as Jason supported her. "The camp was overrun! Chiron's been killed, Dionysus is missing and Piper was injured!" Jason informed us, and his wife growled. "It's nothing bad. We have more important things to attend to." She said, stopping Apollo from leaving his seat.

Zeus nodded. "We know son, Artemis summoned the council and Iris has just shown us what happened." He said, and Jason glared. "Why didn't you do anything! My son is missing, he could be dead!" The son of Jupiter screamed, and tears welled in Piper's eyes. She obviously hadn't thought about that yet.

Hera was surprisingly the one to calm him down. "We will send a search party out to look for any who may have escaped, Jason. He might make his way here, too. I doubt your son would just wander around in the woods forever, he's got more common sense than that. He'd try and find a place he knows you'll be. Just be patient, we have other matters to discuss." She said, calming him down a bit.

Jason quieted, and then Zeus turned back to the council. "So… any ideas?" He asked, at a loss for words. Camp Half-Blood had been invaded many times through the centuries, but it had always held strong. The enemy had never actually _won_. Zeus looked at Athena in particular.

The goddess rubbed her temples in frustration. "I don't know what to tell you, Zeus. Half of our army has just been wiped out in such a short amount of time. I fear that this isn't just a random act of monster aggression. This was planned, very carefully. I think something else is at play, another immortal that wants to destroy Olympus." She said, and the whole room went silent.

Seriously, what was it with Olympus and random immortals trying to take over with their huge monster armies. I mean, we had Kronos, Gaea and Erebus all try the exact same shit in the last 25 years. Of course, we beat them all, but…

"And we don't have Perseus to cover our asses." Ares said, making all our hearts sink as we realised he was right. It was commonly accepted among anyone who didn't have their heads so far up their ass that Percy Jackson was the main reason we won the last three wars. My husband was a very valuable weapon, and now we didn't have him.

"So what's our next course of action?" Poseidon asked, and Athena thought for a moment. "I suppose if this really is war, then we should treat it as such. Get everyone prepared for battle at a minute's notice. We need to warn the Romans. It only makes sense that they'd be the next target, since they're the second half of our army. Whoever this is will likely leave Olympus as the last target, since our defenses are toughest up here." She said.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Dionysus walked in with a girl. Zeus' face turned red. "Where the hades were you!? You do realise that the camp has just been taken over by _monsters_, don't you?! It was your job to prevent things like this, Dionysus!" Zeus screamed in frustration, but the god of wine merely rolled his eyes.

He pushed the girl forward, who I then realised was handcuffed and gagged. This infuriated me at first, until I heard what he had to say. "I was apprehending this little delinquent, who seemed to be on _very_ good terms with the monsters. In fact, I don't recall ever seeing her around camp before, which seems really suspicious." He explained, and our eyes widened.

"Are you saying she was a part of this?" Zeus asked, infuriated, and Dionysus nodded, bringing her forward. As she passed, the girl looked at me, her hard eyes softening for a second. She had jet black hair, with a silver streak dyed into it. It reminded me a bit of Percy's grey streak that he had from lifting the sky. From saving me.

The teen girl's strangely silver eyes disconnected from my own, and she was brought into the center of the room, where Dionysus removed her gag and returned to his throne. "Yeuck!" She gagged, trying to get the taste of the rope out of her mouth. Zeus frowned, leaning forward.

"Who are you, girl?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. The girl smirked, closing her eyes and turning her head. "No one important. I'm just a drifter." She said, making my father glare at her. "Do not lie to me, girl. This is a serious matter. Now tell us, did you have anything to do with the attack on Camp Half-Blood?" He asked seriously.

The girl crossed her arms and made a thinking expression, clearly over exaggerating it. After about twenty seconds, her face formed a very fake confused expression as she said. "I don't know, did I?" The girl laughed.

My father was fuming now, and he gripped the armrests of his throne tightly. "Dammit, girl! I know you had something to do with this! Who do you work for!" He yelled, and I knew he was about 10 seconds of sass away from committing murder.

The girl smirked, checking her watch in boredom. "I never said I worked for anyone." She said, looking around the room as her mind looked for something to pay attention to. I found myself reminded of Percy as I looked at her. They definitely resembled each other. Her behaviour was much the same as well, with the words coming out of her mouth being 99% sass.

I shook the thoughts of my husband out as Zeus got more and more infuriated. "If you don't give me some answers right now, I'm going to blow you to Hades!" He shouted, firing up his bolt in preparation. The girl smirked, her eyes drifting to the window as she bit her lip while smiling. "You want an answer?"

Zeus nodded, and we all leaned forward in anticipation. The girl cracked a lopsided grin, and dropped the bomb. "This whole time I've just been a distraction so you didn't notice the army surrounding the throne room, nor my dad getting ready to bust open those doors." She said, pointing towards the main entrance.

Right on cue, the two large doors burst open, and four men walked in. Immediately, the gods all sprung into action, reaching for our weapons, but they were prepared for that. We were dangerously unprepared for this. Large, earthen tendrils appeared from the ground, rising up as if they were organic. They wrapped around our thrones, pulling us back down into them and ensnaring us all. My hunters and the daughters of Sally Jackson shouted in surprise, but they were ensnared as well.

The four men casually walked into the room, and we all struggled to escape our imprisonment. Ares was the one to speak. "Who the Hades are you!?" My uncle frowned, but didn't say anything. The largest man turned his head to stare at the god of war, his expression unknown through the helmet.

He was big, probably a head taller than even Zeus. His body was completely covered with a grey armor, sleek and sharp one every plate. On his head was a helmet made of the same metal, though it had black eye holes and five large horns protruding out of the top. A long black cape billowed behind him as he reached the center of the room.

The other three men were all unmasked, and I noticed they all looked quite similar to the girl in the middle. One of them had auburn hair, but other than that they looked really similar. The large man turned his head away from Ares, towards the tallest of the other men. "Achilles, go free your sister." He said, pointing at the girl.

The most bulky of the three other men nodded, and he walked over to his apparent sister. They looked similar enough. Same jet black hair, same skin tone, I even noticed that they shared glint in their eyes that basically said 'don't fuck with me.' The man raised a weapon up, which I realised was a familiar golden axe, though I couldn't quite place where I'd seen it before.

The girl held out her chained hands, spreading them as far apart as she could, and after he took a moment to aim it up, he brought the axe down upon the chains. The handcuffs broke apart and she stood up and walked towards the armored man. The man unsheathed a golden sword and handed it to her, and it was then that I realised where I'd seen those weapons before.

"Hey! That's Percy's sword! Those are our weapons! You're the ones who stole them?!" I yelled from my immobile spot on my throne. The man's head snapped to me, and I instantly regretted opening my mouth. He walked over to my throne, and I leaned back as far as I could as he towered over me.

The man stood there, not saying anything as he stood over me. Then I shivered as I heard a cold laugh come out of the helmet. "Maybe we did." He said cryptically, moving away back into the middle of the throne room.

"I suppose you'd like an explanation to… all this." He said, gesturing to him and the other people around him. A few of the Olympians nodded, and he laughed again. After coughing, the man turned his head back to us, and the black voids that the helmet had for eyes stared us down.

"Well, where do I start? I… am your new king. These are my children. The army currently surrounding the throne room and awaiting orders to torch Olympus is mine. Basically, this whole operation…" He said, holding his arms out and spinning around in laughter. "...Is mine." The man said.

Something about the man felt familiar. The way he could be so intimidating and radiate so much power yet act so goofy at the same time. It reminded me of a certain someone, someone I hadn't seen in 17 years. But it couldn't be, I couldn't get my hopes up.

"Why am I doing this, you may ask? Well I was once a peaceful little deity, who'd sit down and shut up while you all pranced around doing your godly things. No, that wasn't true. I was well known for being quite a disturbance." My heartbeat increased as I was reminded once again of a certain someone.

"Over time I opened my eyes… and I realised how fucking horrible you people are. I mean, come on! Rape, murder, terrorism, bullying, assault, I mean seriously! The list of your crimes is endless! You are all nothing but tyrants, and I'm here to end your reign." He said so nonchalantly, which actually made me even more scared.

This man had us right where he wanted us. He could give the order and we'd all be put to death. Who knows, he might actually do that. The man turned his head towards me, and my whole body froze in terror. "Of course, not all of you are like this. There are a certain three that shall be exempt from this, but the rest of you will no doubt be punished for all you've done." He said.

We all squirmed. "Who are they?" Hermes asked, and I noticed his fingers were crossed. The man looked around for a second, pausing for a moment on a few people. "Hestia, Hephaestus and Artemis. They will not be punished." The rest of the Olympus visibly tensed, and I noticed a few were panicking.

"Who are you!?" Poseidon shouted, trying to act as if he had any authority in this situation. I noticed the three younger men were trying to stifle their laughter while the large man stared at Poseidon. "I think you of all people should know who I am, Poseidon."

He turned around, walking towards the door. "Let's play Guess Who. Here's your hints, _very easy _hints if I'm being honest. I am a son of Poseidon. I was a very famous hero. I knew most of you personally, some of us were even friends. I fought many of your wars and killed many of your enemies. Then, I died while doing so, and now I'm back. Any ideas?" He asked, reaching the doors and standing so he was facing us all.

I gulped as tears reached my eyes, and I almost broke down right there. "Percy?..." I said quietly, making his, uh, _children_ look at me with grins on their faces. The armored man chuckled, reaching up for his helmet.

We watched with bated breath as he pulled the helmet over his head and held it in his hands. I almost fainted as I saw the familiar lopsided smirk and messy black hair, with sea-green eyes staring into mine. They looked the same as the day he'd died, but now they had less excitement in them. "Ding, ding, ding. You got it." He spoke, and I choked on my words.

Percy stood in front of me, alive.

_Thump_

Percy cried out in pain and lurched forward, clutching the back of his head. He spun around as his children drew their weapons. His children. Does that mean… Wait, I can move! When Percy was hit over the head, the ensnaring tendrils shattered into many little pieces, and we could all stand up again.

"Wait, Percy?" Jason asked, lowering his Imperial Gold sword for a moment with a raised eyebrow. Percy hissed in pain, glaring at his friend. "What the hell, Jason?!" He yelled in frustration. The blond didn't care, as he dropped his sword to the floor and leapt forward to give the son of Poseidon a hug.

Percy dodged it, fury in his eyes, and he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a horn, carved from some type of bone with many different markings on it. Glaring at everyone in the room but a select few, he brought the horn to his mouth and blew it. Our hearts sank as we heard a loud boom, and lots of screaming outside.

Hermes ran outside to see what was going on, and many of us followed. The only ones who remained in the room were Zeus, Poseidon, Hestia, Percy, Selena, his children and I. Percy placed a hand on the back of his head and then looked at it, checking for blood. He raised a hand, pointing towards the door. "Olympus is lost to you. Now go."

We didn't hesitate to follow his orders.

Zeus fled the room in a hurry, and after looking at each other for a few seconds, everyone else followed. My head turned to Percy, planning on saying something, but he was gone. I heard an explosion in the distance and remembered my hunters, immediately panicking and running off to find him.

I ran around a burning Olympus for ten minutes, watching in horror as my home was destroyed in front of me. I faintly recognised many piles of rubble as buildings I knew. Houses, shops, even just landmarks were all being destroyed by the army of monsters running around. As I looked on in horror, I wondered how Perseus, the Hero of Olympus, could do something like this.

That man was not the one I married.

"Mom!" I heard the familiar cry of my daughter ring out, and my head turned as she clutched onto my arm. "Mom, we have to go! I got separated from the Hunters, but they were heading with the crowd. We have to go now!" She said, tugging on my arm. I stood frozen as citizens ran in terror all around me. Somewhere in amongst all this chaos were my hunters.

"They'll be fine. Thalia will lead them to safety. Let's just hope the Hunt has Ari and Estelle with them. Come on." I told her, grabbing her hand and flashing us out.

We arrived in a forest, somewhere in Oregon to be precise. Selena let go of my arm and bent over, spewing her lunch all over the forest floor. I swallowed what little saliva my dry mouth contained and walked over to her, grabbing her hair and holding it away from her face considerately.

When she was done, she thanked me and pulled me into a hug. I frowned as I felt the wetness of her tears staining my silver shirt. I rubbed the back of her head in a soothing way, and after a few minutes her shivering calmed down a bit and she looked up at me.

"Mom…. Was that really Dad?" She asked, her eyes red. I swallowed again, expecting that kind of question. To be honest, I wasn't sure. "I hope not, Selena. That was not the Perseus I knew." I told her. My daughter nodded, staying in my arms for a few more seconds.

During that time, I heard a stick break, and I let go of Selena. She made to question me, but I shushed her and crept forward. The woods were dead silent, not a single sound could be heard. Not even the normal bird noises that you usually paid no mind were there.

As I took another silent step forward, I felt my stomach lurch as my foot became caught in something and my whole body was flipped upside down. A snare trap. Damn, I should've thought about traps before I started moving forward, or I should've at least kept my eyes on the forest floor.

Selena screamed, and I turned my body around with force. My eyes widened as I saw a man holding his hand to my daughter's mouth, and after a few seconds she slumped into unconsciousness. I screamed out, distraught and angry, and the man carefully placed Selena's body on the floor.

As he approached me, my heart raced as I began to think it was Perseus. Quite tall with black messy hair and a grin on his face. I thought for a second that it was truly my husband, not the imposter I'd seen on Olympus. That was, until he reached me and I stared into the familiar celestial bronze eyes.

My old hunting partner, Orion, stood in front of me, grinning menacingly.

**Okay, I'm gonna be honest with y'all, I'm not really happy with this chapter. Mainly the part where Percy reveals himself, that part felt pretty rushed and unattended, and I feel like I should've put more attention on that scene. It doesn't matter, I'll just post this so you guys have something to ready. Thankfully, Percy and Artemis have been reunited, and now it'll start being Pertemis again. I might put a lemon in the next chapter or the one after, depending on how big the next chapter gets.**

**Who's your favourite Nazi? Mines either Rommel, Goering or Heydrich.**

**Word Count: 3978**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Meet Your Family

**Now it's finally time for some Pertemis stuff. Again, I'm really sorry that last chapter was kinda rushed, but I'll try and make it up to you all by having the next few chapters just be Pertemis. Also, do you like Orion? I personally hate him, since I've read too many Pertemis stuff where he tried to rape Artemis, but in the myths he's actually an alright guy. Then I sometimes see Pertemis fanfics that portray Orion as Artemis' boyfriend or ex-boyfriend and it makes me mad because I kind of sympathize with him.**

Chapter 24: Meet Your Family

_Artemis P.O.V._

Orion pushed me forward, and I had to stabilize myself to stop from falling flat on my face. My hands were bound, but my feet were free so I could walk, which I had been doing for hours now. I glared at Orion, and he made to touch my face. "I'm sorry, Artemis. I'll make it up to you once this is done with." He said comfortingly.

I glared at him, and his calm and caring demeanor changed as he scowled. His hand raised in an aggressive way, and I flinched. His hand halted before he could strike me, and he whirled around. Selena squealed as he grabbed her by the arm forcefully and slapped her across the face.

I yelled, but it was muffled by the gag in my mouth. Orion turned to me, glaring. "We're almost there, so behave yourself." He scolded, and I shut my mouth. He pushed Selena in front of him, tightening his hold of the ropes around our necks, and we began walking again.

As we walked through the barren and rocky fields, my mind wandered to the night before. One of the worst nights of my life.

_Selena and I were kneeling on the ground, our hands tied behind our backs and our 'leashes' tied to a pole in the ground. I tried calming down my hyperventilating daughter, but I couldn't really say anything thanks to the gag in my mouth._

_Our kidnapper, Orion, walked over, holding a cooked rabbit's leg. "You girls hungry?" He asked, holding the rabbit leg out to us. Selena didn't answer, quivering from her spot beside me. I simply glared, and if I wasn't gagged, I would have spat on him. He scowled back, taking a bite of the leg, and then he smirked._

_The smirk sent a cold chill down my spine._

"_You know, I made a deal with my client. I'm gonna deliver the two of you to him, and he's gonna interrogate you for... Whatever reason. I didn't ask. Then, he promised me that if I did this quickly and efficiently, then once he was finished with you… you'd be all mine." Orion told me, and both of our eyes widened in shock._

_He inched closer. "Your bitch of a daughter will stay with him for him to do whatever he pleases with her, and the two of us will be able to be together, finally." He said, glaring at Selena. My daughter quivered, backing away as best as she could from the man. I was scared too, scared of what Orion would do._

_He licked his lips, moving close enough that our bodies were pressed together, and I leaned away. Unfortunately, since I was kneeling, I couldn't exactly go far, and Orion pushed me onto the ground. Selena shouted at him through the gag as best she could, but my old hunting partner ignored her._

_I set himself above me, and I struggled to move with my hands behind my back. Orion's hands moved from on either side of me to my body as he forced his mouth on mine. I squirmed underneath him, trying to stop him from laying his hands all over me, on my breasts, under my shirt, even drifting to my legs._

_Tears spilled from my eyes as he violated me, and he suddenly stopped. He had a horrified look on his face, and he got up quickly. "I'm not supposed to touch you like that. Not until you've been interrogated." He said, standing up. I lay there on my side, tears leaking onto the ground as Selena looked down at me with sympathy and fear._

_Orion grabbed my arm forcefully, pulling me back up on my knees and returning to the campfire. "We'll have plenty of time for that after my job is complete." He muttered to himself, though it was also slightly aimed at me. Selena and I looked at each other worriedly, and neither of us got a wink of sleep that night._

As I was pulled out of my horrible memories, I realised I was standing still, and I had only a second to take note of the fist headed for my face. I fell to the ground, wincing at the heavy blow Orion had dealt to my face. Selena screamed, and Orion shushed her.

He grabbed my hair, pulling me back up to my feet. "What did I tell you about ignoring me, Artemis? No stopping. Now, we're almost there, so you two need to behave yourself. If he finds out about last night, it'll be bad for all of us." He said, pushing the two of us forward again into a walk. As I looked up towards the dark gates, my eyes widened.

Erebus' kingdom.

As we approached, the gates opened, and we walked right through. We followed a similar path to the one the Olympians took to Erebus' palace, and we were let in by two monsters. I have to admit, the palace was lavish from the inside. It looked like your traditional gothic castle, somewhere a vampire would live, but it was actually warm and inhabitable.

The monsters led us through the palace, and I noticed the two monsters- some Dracaena- glaring at Orion with hate in their eyes. Their gazes softened as they looked upon us. I didn't pay it any mind, though. I briefly wondered who this person that wanted Selena and I was, but I quickly figured it out. Who else could it be? Although, I did wonder why he would make such a deal with Orion.

Perhaps it was true. Maybe my husband truly was too far gone.

We eventually reached two large doors and we stopped. The dracaena walked ahead and opened the doors for us, gesturing for the three of us to enter. Orion nudged us in, and we entered the large room.

The room was full of people, 15 to be exact. Eight of them were a very similar uniform, with black clothes and grey masks covering their faces. Six of them were normal sized, while one was larger than the average human and one was huge. Another woman stood off to the side, and as we entered the room I recognised her as Nyx, primordial goddess of the Night. Holding her hand was a small brunette girl with bright green eyes clutching a teddy bear close as she looked at us curiously. She appeared no older than 12 or 13.

The other five were on raised steps, with the largest of them sitting on a large black throne at the top of the steps. I recognized all five of them. Percy and his _children_.

Great, I'd almost forgotten he had children without me. I forgot he _cheated _on me.

Perseus sat on his throne with one leg touching the ground and the other draped lazily over the armrest. He still had his armor and helmet on, so if you weren't at Olympus, you wouldn't have known it was him. He turned his head to us, and sat up slightly. "Orion, you've returned."

The hunter nodded, stepping aside so we were in full view of Perseus. "Yes, and I've brought them, as you requested." He said, holding out his hand gesturing to us. Selena and I squirmed slightly, feeling awkward as all 30 eyes in the room were on us.

Perseus stood up and descended the steps, walking over to us. I flinched as he towered over us, and he knelt down in front of Selena. My daughter- _our _daughter, didn't meet his gaze as the masked man looked over her. After a few seconds, he stood up and approached me.

I gulped as he looked down at me, his face and expression hidden from me. He reached out a hand, and I winced as the cold metal of his gauntlet touched my chin and turned my head in his direction gently. I briefly caught a glimpse of gold iris' shining through the helmet, similar to when Percy emerged from the fires of Mount Saint Helens.

"So, I assume you'll be done with the interrogation quickly, then I get my pay and her?" Orion said, clearing his throat and walking over to Percy expectantly. Perseus ignored him, turning my head so my left eye was visible, the eye that Orion had punched about ten minutes before.

"Orion… why does she have a black eye?" He asked, and I could faintly hear the malice and rage in his calm voice. Orion gulped and started sweating, trying to think up an excuse. "She… she tried to escape last night while I slept, and she tripped and the daughter and hit her eye on the pole I had tied their leashes to." He explained, fidgeting with his hands slightly from beside me.

Perseus looked over at him, an eerie aura of anger being emitted from him. "_Orion_, if her eye fell onto a steel pole, _she wouldn't have an eye_. Now, tell me what really happened before I get _really mad._" He said, drawing a large celestial bronze sword, which I immediately recognized as Riptide.

Orion didn't make that connection, and he began shaking. "Th-they were misbehaving, trying to escape, and-" He tried explaining, but Perseus interrupted him. "_They? _Did you strike my daughter too, Hunter?!" He shouted, and Orion quivered in fear. Then, his eyes widened. "Wait, your daughter?"

Perseus turned around and walked towards the steps. He reached the top as his children stood up, brandishing their respective weapons, and he turned his head to face the Hunter. "Yes Orion, _my_ daughter." He said, taking off his helmet.

Orion gasped as he recognised Percy, and he dropped his bow in shock. "You… you're supposed to b-be dead!" He said, pointing at the man like he was seeing a ghost. Perseus smirked, turning around fully. "I like to think the same about you."

Gradually, the eight masked people in the room drew weapons too, the largest one going to block the door. Nyx brought the young girl close to her, shielding her eyes from what was about to happen. Orion backed up, being surrounded by everyone in the room.

"But- but, you promised! You said if I brought them here then Artemis would be mine! You promised!" He shouted, trying to weasel his way out of this situation. Perseus smirked, absentmindedly running his fingers along the celestial bronze blade. "Well, Orion, my conditions on that were that they came back unharmed. You broke that, so the deal's off. But, thanks for bringing them here anyway." He said, laughing at Orion's expense.

Orion turned to make a run for it, but stopped when he noticed the man blocking the door. "You can't do this. We had a deal!" He said, glaring at Percy with hate in his eyes. Perseus just shrugged. "Well, as I said, the deal's off, so you are no longer here on business. That means I can do whatever I want with you, and I would like to see you punished for hurting my wife and child. I'm sure my other children would like to assist with that."

All four of the teenagers held up their weapons threateningly, with the skinniest one nocking an arrow on his golden bow. _My bow_. Orion backed away from them, but was kicked forward onto the ground by one of the masked people. The masked woman said something afterwards, which I made out as "Serves you right, you bastard."

I gulped, remembering something my close friend Zoe had said after Orion's first death. "_Serves him right, the bastard."_

Orion was on his knees now, staring warily at the golden weapons. "Please, let me go. Those weapons will fade me!" He begged, and Percy laughed. "No shit Sherlock. Go get 'em, kids." He said, pointing at Orion. Like trained dogs, the four teens obeyed, running forward and _taking care_ of Orion.

I cringed as I watched it unfold, and Nyx pressed the girl tighter into her dress. Even though I hated him with a passion, I couldn't help but feel bad for my former friend as the teens tore him apart. I looked over, and Selena watched the sight with wide eyes, probably realising that those were her _siblings_.

After he had faded, and his bloody and mangled body lay unmoving, Percy beckoned his children back to him. He gestured to us, and one of the masked figures came and removed our gags.

Selena was the first to speak, managing to choke out. "Dad?" Percy smiled warmly as the figure cut her bonds. "Hey Sweetheart." When her hands were freed, she ran forward, not hearing my protests, and she engulfed Percy in a hug.

"You're really here." She said in disbelief, holding herself close to him. He nodded, leaning down and kissing her forehead. After about a minute, she released him, and looked at her father in curiosity. "How are you here? You died in the war. The gods said so." She said in confusion.

Percy just smiled and kissed her forehead again. "The gods got a lot of things wrong." His eyes wandered to the corpse in the middle of the room. "Did he hurt you?" He asked sympathetically. Selena didn't answer at first, but then she nodded. "He slapped me a few times. Mom got it worse though." She said, and his attention was suddenly on me.

"Artemis!" He ran down towards me, and I had no time to object before he swept me in a tight hug. "Are you alright? What did he do to you?" He asked, checking my eye over for any hidden damage. I didn't answer, nor did I even look at him. Selena answered for me.

"He touched her, and hit her. He didn't get any further than kissing and groping." She explained, and he looked at me with sadness. "I'm sorry, Moonbeam. But he's gone now, he can't do that ever again." He consoled me.

I couldn't handle it, and I fell into his arms, crying my heart out into his chest. He soothed me, rubbing my back and kissing the top of my head like he did with Selena. Then, I was reminded of another fact.

I broke the hug, and my face turned to one of rage as I slapped him hard across the face. He winced, touching his burning cheek in pain. "Ow, what was that for?!" He asked, looking at me with hurt in his eyes. "How could you cheat on me!" I screamed, gesturing to his four children who stood staring at us with wide eyes.

"What? I didn't- Oh, I see why you're confused. Let me explain." He said, launching into a whole explanation about what has happened since I last saw him. "You see, I thought I died, but then Nyx's monsters rescued me, and she took care of me for a few months. Afterwards, I began to resent Olympus, and I'm now plotting to destroy Olympians, or rather the Olympians. I already got Olympus itself." He said, chuckling to himself as I glared at him.

"Anyways, Nyx helped me with this, and we recruited eight generals to be my advisors and closest allies in this conquest." He said, gesturing to the masked people. Percy whistled, and all of them removed their masks. I gaped at them all as their faces

became recognisable.

Luke Castellan, Ethan Nakamura, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Damasen, Iapetus, Bianca di Angelo and Zoe Nightshade.

At the last two, tears formed in my eyes, and I leapt forward to embrace them. "But… how?" I asked, sobbing into Zoe's shirt. My best friend smiled down at me. "Percy rescued us all from our respective resting places, and Nyx called in a favour to get me taken out of the sky." She explained, and I gasped as I remembered the night the Huntress had disappeared from the constellations.

Percy cleared his throat, and I turned back to him. He gestured back to the four teenagers. "Well, thanks to me killing Gaea, I have some Primordial power, and one of those is creating life from scratch. Using this power, I made four children, _without having sex with someone_, and based them withour DNA." He said, and my eyes widened as I looked at the four teens.

"Wait, so…" I asked, trailing off. Percy nodded, grinning like a fool. "Yep, they're your children." He said, stepping aside so I could see them all. Black hair, green eyes, auburn hair, silver eyes, tanned skin, all of them had only features that were prominent in either Percy or I, and as I looked longer, the more blatantly obvious it became.

I was a mother again.

I stepped forward slowly, and so did the only girl. It was the one we had been questioning only a day ago, with the silver-dyed streak in her hair. We met each other at the bottom of the steps, and I swallowed what little saliva I had. I couldn't manage to get any words out, but she could. "Hi mom." She said awkwardly. Then I pulled her in for a tight hug.

Soon, I felt more arms wrap around me, and then more, and soon I was in a group hug with my new children. I'll admit, I cried tears of joy a bit. "I have sons." I murmured, wrapping my arms as best as I could around them. They smiled, hugging me back equally as tight.

As we broke apart, Percy walked up beside me, and I smiled at him as all anger was forgotten. "Artemis, meet your children. "Larissa, Calix, Achilles and Urion." He said, and then grunted as a force hit his leg.

I looked, and the girl with the teddy was hugging him while looking up at me curiously. Percy laughed, picking her up and spinning her around. "And of course our adoptive daughter, Sapphire." He said, and the young girl waved at me while smiling awkwardly.

I chuckled, waving back with tears in my eyes as I looked over my family. My husband and my children.

The family I never even knew I had.

**Yay, they're back together! I'll put a lemon in the next chapter, between Larissa and Urion- I mean Percy and Artemis. It was a joke guys, Larissa and Urion aren't really together. As I said, the next few chapters are just gonna be Pertemis, with little to do with the actual plot. Thought I'd reward you for like 12 straight chapters of a Pertemis story without any Pertemis.**

**Thank you for sticking with me, guys. I know it can get frustrating, but I want this to have an actual plot and story. Also, go check out Fanofthehunt on Wattpad, since he/she are pretty much my greatest influence in Pertemis. I absolutely love their stories, and you should go and support them.**

**Word Count: 3250**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Settling In

**I bought a pack of Fortnite trading cards today… $3 well spent. Also, what the heck are Nandos? Percy and Artemis are back together, and I have a question to ask. What do you think about one more kid? Artemis would get pregnant, so it won't really be alive until the end of the story, but what do you think? It could help as a plot point. Also, shoutout to ItzYaBoiFlamez for commenting 28 times on my story. I had a lot of fun going through them all, and some gave me quite a good chuckle.**

Chapter 25: Settling In

_Artemis P.O.V._

Even though I was more or less kidnapped, I found myself okay with being brought here. I can tell Selena felt the same, as she'd always wanted two things. 1, to meet her father, and 2, siblings. She always knew neither of them were realistic or even possible wishes, but now she had both, and she was excited.

Since it was late in the afternoon, Percy brought us all to the dining room, where a feast had been set out. I hugged Zoe once more, promising that we'd catch up tomorrow, and followed my husband and children.

Selena and I both gawked at the table lined with food, eight chairs all pulled out ready for us to sit. Percy sat down at the head of the rich wooden table, and I sat to his left. Selena sat opposite me, and our other children filled out the table, with Larissa sitting on the other side of me from Percy.

He clapped his hands twice, and the lids of all the dishes vanished, revealing plates filled with food fit for royalty. Meats and vegetables of every kind, various jugs full of drinks and other items like bread and sauces awaited us.

Hungry as Hades, Selena and I immediately dug in, and Percy chuckled. "You like it? I had our chefs cook up a special banquet tonight." He said, gesturing to the feast. Selena, forgetting all table manners I'd taught her _again_, swallowed a large chunk of venison and grinned. "It's amazing, Dad. We never get feasts like this." She praised him, and he smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"You're goddesses, why not?" He asked, and I rolled my eyes. "You know I like to eat only what I kill and pick myself, and it's hard to hunt all this in one day." I said, gesturing to all the food. Percy, to my children's disgust, leaned over and kissed me. "Well, you're home now, so don't worry about that."

Surprisingly, I didn't feel anything wrong with him calling this home. Back in the throne room, I promised myself I'd put all this 'enemy of Olympus' stuff aside, at least for the time being. I finally had my husband back, along with five new children. I was not going to throw it away over differing political opinions.

Percy turned to Selena, and I felt someone nudged me in the side gently. I turned, and Larissa was smiling at me. "Do you like your dinner?" She asked, looking at my plate full of venison, duck and salad. I smiled and nodded, swallowing my mouthful. "It's great. Tell the chefs that their cooking is wonderful." I told her, and she laughed, nodding. "Will do."

"So, Larissa, tell me about yourself." I said, wanting to get to know my eldest child and daughter more. Percy had informed me that both Larissa and Calix would be older than Selena by about eight months, and that Larissa was considered older than Calix by everyone, though by a tiny margin. Larissa smiled, and began to talk about herself.

"Well, my name's Larissa Sally Jackson, I'm the eldest child and daughter of Perseus and Artemis. In my spare time I like to destroy my brothers at video games and sparring, and I also like to play sports." She said, and I laughed at the way she said it all. Then a confused look grew on my face. "There's sports out here?" I asked, thinking of the barren wasteland that lay outside the fort walls.

Larissa laughed. "No, but it's not like we've never been to the mortal world. Dad lets us go on weekends or when we don't have any lessons or other jobs to do. Sometimes we join in with other kids playing soccer or baseball, and I've gotten quite good at it over the years." She explained, and I nodded.

"So he just lets you go up there by yourself?" I asked, frowning with worry. My daughter nodded. "Only if we're armed, of course. We used to have to bring an adult to supervise us, like Nyx or one of the Guardians, but now that we're older he trusts us not to kill anyone unless in self defence." She said, and I smiled.

"So, how is he?" I asked, nodding my head in Percy's direction. Larissa's gaze followed my gesture, and she smiled. "He's great. The best dad I could ever ask for. He has his problems, but nothing bad. He always treats the five of us with l-"

"What problems?" I asked, confused, and she blushed. "I probably shouldn't tell you. Dad doesn't want you worrying or interfering." She said, making me even more suspicious. But, knowing I wouldn't get anything out of her with percy right there, I nodded.

Larissa's face turned to normal. "Anyway, as I was saying, he's a great Dad, and he's always nice to us. The only times he's ever mad at us is if we've royally screwed up or are being little brats, so basically only at my brothers." She joked, nodding at the four teenage boys gulping down their food much like Selena.

"He's particularly kind to Sapphire here. I think she's his favourite." She whispered the last part, moving back to give me a view of the young girl. The girl, who was no older than 12 or 13, blushed, and kicked Larissa in the leg. "Shut up, Rissy." She mumbled, kicking at her older sister's leg.

I smiled at the young girl. "It's nice to meet you, Sapphire." I said, and she blushed again. "It's nice to meet you too, M-mom." She said awkwardly, and I couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. It must be hard being the adopted child in a large family. I hope to gods my children didn't treat her differently because of her parentage.

During the dinner, I also struck up conversations with my sons, getting to know them a bit better too. It would take time, but I had no doubt that Selena and I would fit into this well. We'd make this new family work.

After the main course was finished, I felt a slight nudge on my thigh, and looked down to see what it was. I was shocked to see a large black wolf sitting there, looking up at me with curious green eyes. I gaped, but then smiled and reached down to pat the dog. "Hi boy." I greeted, making the dog nuzzle my hand with affection.

"His name's Fenrir. Dad made him not too long before Calix and I, and just after creating Indy." Larissa explained, and I raised an eyebrow. "Who's Indy?" I asked, thinking I had another unknown child or perhaps there was another dog.

Then, Selena screamed, and my head snapped in her direction. She was pressed back against her chair, breathing heavily as Percy held an arm out to her with visible confusion etched on his face. "What? What did I do?" He asked, worried for his daughter.

Then, I noticed the cobra poking its head out of his sleeve, and I slapped his arm down. "Percy! There's a snake in your clothes!" I yelled, thinking he was unaware of this. He just looked at me in confusion as well, and then at the disgruntled snake who had just been whacked. "I know. This is Indy. The first of my creations." He said, holding the snake up to me.

Selena shivered in her seat, and I gently lowered Percy's arm. "Percy, Selena's afraid of snakes. Like _really_ afraid." I said, looking at my quivering daughter and remembering back to an incident when she was 7. The Hunt had been travelling through Arizona, and Selena had ran ahead through the desert, enjoying her youth.

We could still see her, since it was a desert and she was only about 100 metres in front of us, so we saw her stop and bend down to look at something. Before I could say anything to her, we heard my daughter scream, and she fell back, clutching her wrist and scrambling away.

We all rushed over to her, and saw a rattlesnake slithering away fast. Selena was panicking, and I quickly realised she'd been bitten. Of course, she ended up fine, since I called Apollo and he came down to 'kiss his niece's boo-boo all better', as he liked to put it. But it still traumatized Selena, and she'd been deathly afraid of snakes ever since. My twin liked to attribute it to 'The Curse of Python', relating it to how all Athena children were afraid of spiders thanks to their mother's rivalry with Arachne. I obviously didn't believe him, but he somehow managed to convince my daughter, and to this day she vowed that the next time Python surfaces, she'll be the one to finally kill him.

Percy nodded, and patted Indy's head softly. "Sorry boy, not tonight. I'll get you some food later. You'll get used to him, Selena. He only bites enemies, so you don't need to worry." He comforted, and she nodded, relieved that the snake had retreated into Percy's sleeve.

I turned back to Larissa, curious about something. "How are you all doing in terms of relationships?" I asked, hoping my sons weren't womanizers, or even worse, _males_. Larissa laughed. "Well, they're all virgins as far as I can tell. Urion's never showed any interest in dating, but Achilles and Eris have been together for a bit over a year now, and Cal has the goo-goo eyes for a mortal girl named Jess." She explained, and Calix glared at his twin from across the table.

I nodded, but then my eyes widened. "Wait, Eris? The goddess of Strife?" I asked, hoping to clarify. Larissa nodded. "Yeah, they go well together." She said, earning a glare from her other brother.

Then I smirked. "And what about you? Have you found your knight in shining armor?" I asked teasingly, and my daughter's cheeks went up in golden flames. "N-no." She stammered, and Calix scoffed from his seat. "Please, sis. You ogle that son of Thanatos every time he comes by. What's his name again? Sykor?" He said, making his sister blush even more.

I turned back to my embarrassed daughter, smirking. "Sykor, huh? He sounds exciting." I teased, and she crossed her arms. "He's just a friend." She muttered, and Achilles laughed. "That's bull. We're all waiting for the day we catch you two sucking face in a closet." He said, making everyone at the table laugh except for her.

She scowled at him, and then dug into her dessert in silence.

Somehow, unlike with Selena, I was fine with the fact that my daughter may have had a love interest. It made me think of how I would've been if Percy had been my age. By that I mean like thousands of years old, not physically my age, because we both look in our early twenties.

Dessert finished up, and Percy checked the time. "Wow, that took a long time. How is it 10:30pm already?" He asked, making most of us shrug. We had started dinner quite late, and most of it was long conversations. Percy turned to Sapphire, smirking. "You know what that means."

Sapphire groaned, standing up with a frown on her face. "Ugh. Fine." She said, walking up to Percy. Sapphire kissed him on the cheek, and then mumbled. "Goodnight, Daddy." She said, slightly moody that she had to go to bed. She turned to me for a second, then whispered in Percy's ear. My husband furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"I thought you liked when I did it?" He said, making me raise an eyebrow, wondering what they were talking about. The nine year old whispered some more, and then Percy nodded. "Arty, would you mind putting Sapphire to bed?" He asked, and my eyes widened. It's not like I hadn't done that before. I was a mother, after all, and there were the young hunters who liked me to tuck them in with a kiss on the forehead.

I nodded, smiling at Sapphire. "Of course. You ready?" I asked, standing up. She nodded, wishing everyone good night as she picked up her teddy bear. "'Night, Baby Girl." Percy said, kissing her on the forehead. The other kids said goodnight, and Selena gave her a hug. Sapphire walked off, and I followed her to her bedroom.

It was nice, if a bit girly. The walls had pink flower patterns that reminded me of Aphrodite, and various toys such as dolls were littered all over the floor. Sapphire got changed into her pyjamas, and so I avoided looking by studying the room. Overall, I didn't have a problem with it, but I knew for a fact that Selena never had a room like this.

When she was done, Sapphire got into bed and I knelt down beside her. Kissing her on the forehead, I smiled and pulled the covers up to her neck. "Goodnight, Sapphire." I said, getting up to leave, but stopped when I felt something grab my arm. Sapphire stared at me with pleading eyes. "Can you read me a story? Dad always reads me a book, or at least makes up a story before I go to sleep." She said, and I raised an eyebrow.

I remembered when Selena was young, and she always wanted to hear stories as she fell asleep, usually true ones like something her father did or the Hunt. I nodded, grabbing a chair and sitting down. "Alright, what do you want to hear?" I asked, and she thought for a moment. "How did you and Dad meet?"

I smiled, reminiscing fondly on the first moment we laid eyes on each other. I wouldn't call it love at first sight, since he was in love with another girl and I was still an avid man-hater, but there was definitely a spark. "Well, we actually met on one of your father's quests, and he saved me like a knight in shining armor. Do you want to hear about that?" I asked, and she nodded.

I told her the whole story, including what I'd heard from campers and Apollo about the parts before Othrys, and Sapphire listened intently the entire time. When I got to the part on Mount Othrys, she clutched her teddy tightly in suspense. Finally, I finished the story, and she was shocked.

"Wooaah, so Dad saved you from Atlas and held the sky. _The sky._ That must weigh a lot." She said, flabbergasted. I chuckled. "Yep, that's how he got that grey hair streak." I said, and she nodded. "Like Rissy." She said, referencing the silver hair streak in her sister's hair. I frowned. " I hope that's dye." I said, and I heard a voice from the doorway. "Don't worry, it is."

Percy leaned against the doorway, smiling at us both. "Larissa decided she liked the look, so I told her to make it silver so she doesn't look like an old woman, among other reasons." He said, winking at me. I smiled, and he came and squatted down next to the bed.

"Okay, I think it's time for lights out, Baby Girl. Mommy and I are tired." He said, and to prove his point, I nodded. Sapphire grumbled. "Okay, Daddy." He smiled, kissing her forehead. "Goodnight Baby Girl." He said, going to stand beside the door. She wished him goodnight, and I smiled.

"Good night, Saph." I said, trying to come up with a nickname for my youngest child. She smiled as I kissed her forehead as well. "'Night, Mommy." She said, turning on her side and hugging her teddy. I followed Percy out the door, and he turned off the lights and shut the door.

Once outside the room, he turned and pulled me in for a kiss. "She really likes you, you know." He said, and I smiled. "Good. I like her too." Percy laughed, pulling me closer to him. "I like you, too. _A lot_." He said with a hint of seduction in his voice. I smirked, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him. "I can say the same about you, my Hero." I said, and he smirked.

My husband went for another kiss, and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist. "The kids all decided to go to bed as well. They're tired, and I showed Selena to her room." He said, confirming my hopes. "Good, then we have the rest of the night to ourselves." I said, making him smirk.

Carrying me by the thighs, he carried me down the hallway towards the end, where there were two doors shut tight. Once there, Percy kicked them open and carried me into his bedroom, shutting them with his foot and locking them once we were inside. "How about we make up for lost time?" He asked, smirking at me.

I kissed him again, 16 years of lust that I'd built up pouring out at rapid rates. He dropped me on the bed, and I instinctively spread my legs, even though I was still clothed. He hurriedly tore off his shirt, and then crawled atop me. "The room is soundproof, so feel free to scream as much as you want, Moonbeam." He smirked, and I blushed.

He carefully took off my jacket, not wanting to scare me off by going too aggressively, especially with what happened last night. I kissed him as he took off my shoes and then his own, and then he moved to get rid of my white tank top. He stared at my bra-covered breasts in awe, moving his hands to touch them. "I almost forgot how beautiful they were." He said, making me blush in embarrassment. "They'll look a lot better without the bra." I flirted, making him smirk.

He fiddled with his belt, taking it off and then removing his jeans. I looked down and noticed the large tent he was packing. I grabbed it, making him groan. "Someone's excited. You miss me?" I asked, smirking as I slid my hand up and down his covered length, making him groan. He grinned, reaching for my pants and sliding them down.

Now with both of us in our underwear, the passion took over, and I reached inside his pants, finding the object I was looking for. My husband reached behind my back, unclipping my bra and releasing my breasts to the world. The cold air touched my nipples, hardening them instantaneously.

Percy bent down, placing his mouth on my breast and licking eagerly. When he felt he'd given that one enough attention, he swapped over, repeating this a few more times. The pleasure he was giving my breasts was enough to make me cum, and he looked down at my soaked panties with a smirk. He carefully slid my panties down past my legs, while I helped him get rid of his boxers.

His cock was at full attention, and I was almost salivating just staring at it. Gingerly, I reached out with my right hand and began stroking it, taking pride in his moans knowing that I had this effect on my husband. He stepped closer to me on the bed with my legs spread, and I eagerly helped him aim for my pussy.

Looking me in the eyes, he smirked before slowly pushing in. I felt like I had gone to Elysium, like I was losing my virginity all over again. My hands clutched at his naked back as his large cock pushed deeper into my tight pussy, and my nails dug into his skin. He groaned, reaching the back of my vagina, and I almost came at the feeling.

He grinned his familiar wolfish grin, and I rested my head against his shoulder, face down into his neck. With a large thrust, he pulled out and back in quickly, making me scream in both pain and pleasure. He found a good pace, thrusting in and out with great momentum, and I moaned.

The sound of flesh slapping against flesh was music to my ears as I was finally reunited with my husband, and I bit my lip to stop myself from crying out. However, Percy's dominant side broke out once again, and he grabbed onto my neck, slightly choking me but in a pleasurable way. "Don't hold back, Moon. Scream for me." He said, thrusting extra hard that time.

I couldn't help it, and I began shouting at the top of my lungs. "YES PERCY! FUCKING FUCK ME HARDER! OH, I'VE WANTED THIS FOR SO LONG! FUCK YES! FUCK MY TIGHT PUSSY JUST THE WAY I LOVE IT! OH FUCK YES!" I screamed, making him grin as he went harder and faster.

Soon, he was holding my throat down with my hand, going in and out with the speed and strength of a god. I gasped for air, not saying anything because to be honest, I loved the way he held me down and fucked me. After almost twenty minutes of nonstop fucking, he groaned. "Moon, I'm gonna cum. Where do you want it?" He asked, not slowing down.

I panted, being driven into the bed by the stud above me, and my legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer to me. "Cum in me, Percy. I want another child with you. Expand our family, baby. Come on baby, give it to me." I whimpered as his cock repeatedly speared my pussy, and with one final groan, we both came, and I relished in the feeling of his hot sperm in my pussy.

He panted, letting his cum spill into me for a few moments, before he rolled over and laid down next to me. I wasn't done, though. Far from it. I got up and sat at the end of the bed, slowly stroking his cock. He looked at me expectantly and smirked, and I took that as my cue to start sucking.

I was originally planning on just cleaning him off, but just never stopped. He moaned as my head went up and down his dick, while my hand, wet with my own juices from fingering myself, pleasured whatever I couldn't fit in my mouth. Just as I was hoping, he clutched tightly onto my hair, making me moan at the aggression he mixed in with passion.

His dick tasted so good, and I actually felt addicted to it. I knew that now we were back together, I would be able to taste this a lot more, and that thought got me excited. I felt something stirring in him, and he groaned. "Fuck, Artemis. How are you so good with your mouth?" He asked, and I smiled on his cock, picking up the pace.

I felt the dam about to burst, and buried his cock in my mouth while sucking and stroking. The floodgates opened, and many large spurts of cum shot down my throat. I sat there for a moment with my head on his cock, letting it all flow down and into my stomach. After a while, I released it, playing with the head and smirking at him. "Tasty."

He reached behind me and squeezed my ass, making me moan. "I want this next." He requested, and I nodded, hopping up and turning around. I reached the end of the bed and got on my hands and knees, looking at the door as I waited for him. He crawled over, and I shook my ass for him teasingly.

He smirked, and brought his hand down upon my right cheek, making me gasp. I bit my lip, shutting my eyes as hard as I could. "Yes, baby. Abuse my fucking ass. Give it all you've got, baby." I moaned, and he followed my demands. Slap after slap came down upon my ass, and I felt tears brimming in my eyes as he did so.

"You've got such a bubbly ass, Moonbeam. I love it." I said in his dominant husky voice, and I couldn't help but push my ass against him, begging for more. He grinned, grabbing his cock and pressing it against my asshole. I bit my lip, and surprised him by pushing back, impaling his cock in my ass.

He moaned, and grabbed my hair in a fistful. "Naughty, Moon. I was supposed to do that." He said, and I couldn't help but grin cheekily. "Too bad, slowpoke." I teased, and he growled. I gasped again as his hand made contact with my ass harshly, and he pulled on my hair tighter, forcing me to look at the roof as he bent down beside my ear. "Watch your mouth, Moon."

I gulped and nodded, taking pleasure as he went in and out of my ass slowly. He continued to tug on my hair, eliciting a moan every time he did so. 18 years ago, I never would've guessed that I of all people would be so into BDSM. As he repeatedly thrust into me, he leaned back down beside my ear again.

"When you married me, you agreed to forever be my submissive, and I your dominant. I expect you to hold up to that and _listen to me_." He growled, pulling harder. Tears leaked out of my eyes as I nodded, really enjoying this. He let go of my hair and placed both his hands on either side of my waist.

I stared into the mirror beside the door, watching as my husband furiously pounded me from behind while I sat doggy style with my tongue hanging out and wagging all over the place. My tits bounced back and forth, and I watched him grab one of them with his hand and begin groping them and rubbing his thumb over the nipple, making me moan and whimper.

"Good pet. Daddy's gonna cum in you, and you're gonna sit there and take it like the good little bitch you are." He said, and even though it may have been weird to use that term now that we were parents, I was way too into this. "Yes Daddy! Please, fill me with your cum. I can't wait to feel my asshole burn with your seed. Please, baby! Cum in me, Daddy. Gods, yes Daddy!" I screamed, whimpering under my breath.

His right hand reached out and clutched my neck, cutting off my circulation as he came, and I struggled to let out a moan at the pleasure. His cum spilled down my asshole inside me, and I thrust twice more, trying to get any leftovers in there. After a minute, he pulled out, and I collapsed, unable to hold myself up on weak knees.

My knees shook with pleasure, and I loved the feeling that my body had all but forgotten for the past 17 years. Percy laid down beside me, pulling me on top so I was straddling him. I kissed him softly on the cheek, and he replied back with just as much passion. When it was over, I rested both of my hands on his muscular chest to stabilize myself, smiling down at him.

"I love you, Moon." Percy stared deep into my eyes, and I couldn't help but grin back. I kissed him quickly on the lips and lay my head on his chest, closing my eyes. "I love you too, Percy." I said, getting ready to fade off into the realm of Hypnos. Percy remained silent, but suddenly spoke.

"Moon, what if you get pregnant?" He asked, and I turned my head to look up at him. "Then we'll have a new member of the family, one we'll love just as much as the others." I said, and he frowned. "I meant it politically. I haven't really seen the Olympians since the attack, but I assume they must be furious. It's already dangerous enough for my adult children, I don't like the thought of them using my baby to get me." He said, and I also frowned.

"I won't let that happen, Percy. As the mother and a fellow Olympian, I won't let them lay a finger on any of our children. I promise you that. A mama bear always protects her cubs." I said, and Percy smiled. He leaned over and kissed me on the forehead before lying back down. "I'm glad I fell in love with you."

I smiled, laying my head back down on his naked chest. "I'm glad you fell in love with me, too."

**That's a wrap. That's the second lemon of the story, and my third lemon overall. How did you like it? I'm thinking about updating Taste next, so if you haven't read that story, go check it out, though reader discretion is advised. What do you think? Should Artemis get pregnant again? Review or comment what you think. I'm leaning towards yes, but I would like to get your guy's opinions on these types of things. That way I can tailor the story the way you guys think it'd be best to go. **

**If you want me to go with another child, comment extra things that would help, like gender, name, appearance, etc. Like I said, I like to get your guy's opinions on these things. I'm a man of the people, I'll give them what they want.**

**ALSO: I've been thinking about starting a lemon story, where every chaoter is Percy having sex with someone in the PJO/HoO and heck maybe even KC or MC universes as well. Of course, it would be straight, and Artemis would be Percy's main/wife, perhaps she'll even join in on some of his conquests too. What do you say? Should I try that?**

**What's your favourite MCU movie besides Infinity War and Endgame, because those are everyone's favourites. Mine's definitely Thor Ragnarok.**

**Word Count: 5074**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Family Fun

**Okay, so I'm running out of ideas for these next few chapters. I want to keep it strictly Pertemis chapters while I get this 'Act Two' of the story straightened out. Please review or comment or DM with ideas you'd like to see featured in a Pertemis chapter. I'll start that lemon story soon. Sorry for the long wait, school's finishing up soon, I was recently on a school field trip and I started playing Darksiders III, which is actually really great. It definitely doesn't deserve all the hate it gets, in fact I prefer it over 2, but the first game is still the best.**

**Expect slow updates. Sorry.**

Chapter 26: Family Fun

_Percy's P.O.V._

I woke up still inside of Artemis, who lay peacefully on top of me enjoying whatever dream she was having. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the light, but when they did, I was pleased with what I saw.

The limited light we got in this realm shone through the crack in the curtains perfectly onto her, illuminating her pretty face. She was smiling slightly, with the corners of her lips curved upwards as the left side of her face pressed onto my pec. I smiled down at her knowing that my wife and the mother of my children was finally home, and that our family was finally complete.

The covers only reached her waist, leaving her naked back was exposed to the elements. Being the considerate husband I was, I pulled up the covers, not counting on the fact that the movement would wake my sleeping beauty. Her eyes fluttered open and squinted slightly as the light hit them, and she turned her head the other way so she could see.

Artemis looked up at me, and after taking a few seconds to register who I was and where she was, she smiled. I smiled back, and my wife pulled herself up to kiss me, her glowing silver eyes shining their own light on my own sea-green ones. The light calmed me, and I closed my eyes and smiled as she nuzzled into my neck.

"Good morning, Moonbeam." I murmured, making her look back up at me and smile. "Morning, Mr Jackson." She said, breaking out into a yawn. I liked it when she yawned. It reminded me of a cat or a puppy, really big and over-exaggerated but almost silent at the same time. Her arms outstretched either side of her as she sat up, straddling me, and I reached up to tuck a stray hair behind her ear.

She smiled and lay back down on me, snuggling into my chest. "What should we do today?" She asked, rubbing circles on my shoulder with her finger. I thought for a moment. I didn't have any duties to attend to right now, as my Generals would be handling the militaristic issues since they knew I'd want to spend time with my family. If there were any urgent problems or issues they couldn't solve without my input, they'd find me.

So basically, we could do whatever we wanted.

"I think the kids will want to spend time with their mother. I don't think one dinner session was enough for them." I told her, and she nodded. "Good, it wasn't enough for me either." She said. I looked down at the hand that was touching my shoulder, and smiled as I spotted the familiar ring that I had placed on her finger 17 years ago.

"You still have the ring." I noted, and her head turned to me suspiciously. "Yeah, and you'd better still have yours." She glared, looking around for my hands, which rested on her lower back. I laughed, showing her the finger that still had the golden ring adorning it.

She sighed in relief and played with my hand, comparing her silver emerald-adorned ring next to my gold sapphire-infused ring. Both of the rings were beautiful, with the colours and gems matching well with the other person's when you placed them side-by-side.

I frowned as I realised something, still staring at the two rings. "We never got that real wedding I promised you." I said, remembering the promise I made to her the night we got married. She was silent for a moment, but then pulled herself up and kissed me softly on the lips again.

"I don't think right now is a good time to get married, Percy. I'm sorry, but I don't even know if my family or my hunters are still alive, and I don't want stuff like that intruding on our big day. Maybe after the war is over, but not right now. I want to have everyone there, I want it to be perfect. I don't want some small wedding with just us, our children and Nyx. I want a wedding that will be talked about for centuries, and now's not the right time for that." She said sadly, and I nodded.

"I didn't think you'd want to go all out on a wedding. You're not exactly known for being romantic." I told her, making her smile as she sat up. "What can I say? You've changed me. Now come on, let's get some breakfast." She said, looking around the room for her clothes. Not wanting her to use the same clothes she'd been wearing for two days, I summoned some jeans, a t-shirt, one of my blue hoodies and some socks for her to wear, plus some underwear. She got up and went to take a shower, and I decided to wait for my turn before getting dressed.

I opened the door to our bedroom, allowing Fenrir to immediately come bounding in past me. He sat on the bed, wagging his tongue and staring at me. I'm glad I put some underwear on first, then. While waiting for my wife to get out of the shower, I grabbed a book and sat down next to Fenrir, petting him as I read.

The shower turned off, and 30 seconds later my wife entered the room wrapped in a towel. "Forgot my clothes. Hi boy." She said, rubbing Fenrir's ear as he licked her hand. I nodded, going off and taking my own shower. I made it quick, only wanting to get the smell of sex off of me before I went to see my children.

I left the room fully dressed, having remembered to bring my clothes, and walked out to find Artemis brushing her hair and Fenrir gone. When she noticed me, she quickly finished up and tied her hair back, standing up and smiling at me. "Ready?" She asked, and I nodded.

The two of us walked throughout the long cold halls of my palace, the low temperature making Artemis shiver slightly. She hugged the hoodie closer to her, trying to warm herself up, so I pulled her closer to me with one arm. Artemis smiled, leaning into me as we walked towards the living room, or at least the main living room.

When we got there, it was absolute chaos. Achilles and Selena were wrestling each other on the ground, Larissa and Calix were smacking and snatching at each other, Sapphire and Urion were dueling with pokers from the fireplace, Fenrir was biting Achilles' ankle and Indy was resting around Selena's shoulders (a fact she didn't seem to be aware of). All of this madness was occuring as Artemis and I walked into the room, our jaws hitting the floor.

When they noticed our presence, they all immediately stopped, staring at us with wide eyes. I sighed, noticing the damaged furniture and the hole in the wall. "Can someone explain to me what's going on here?" I said calmly, and they all looked at each other sheepishly.

"He started it! Cal wouldn't stop bugging me about Sykor!" Larissa said, pointing at Calix, making him look at her in shock. "You hit me first!" He retaliated. I looked towards Achilles and Selena, and my daughter was quick to throw her brother under the bus. "He kept bragging about how he can beat anyone in a fight!" She explained, making him glare at her. "So you sucker punched me?" He asked, and I could see Artemis looking at Selena suspiciously.

She whirled around, glaring at him. "No, I challenged you on that, and I specifically remember you saying 'Oh yeah? Try me.' So I did. Mom always told me to put boys in their place." She said, smiling at Artemis, who visibly relaxed. I sighed, expecting a lot of trouble from Achilles and Selena in the future.

Finally, Urion and Sapphire stood there, and my youngest daughter was giggling uncontrollably. "Uri and I were playing Star Wars!" She said, still holding the poker. Artemis and I couldn't help but smile, there was no way we could be mad at her.

Fenrir sat happily next to Sapphire, wagging his tongue playfully. It was then that Selena noticed Indy, and she gasped loudly as she flinched, shaking the snake off of her. Achilles tried his best to suppress his laughter, but was punched in the arm by Selena.

I sighed, assessing the damage. "Alright, well that's enough fighting for today." I said, walking over and picking up a broken wooden board, the origin of which I had no idea. Artemis clapped her hands, turning their attention to her while I picked up the rubble. "How about we go out and do something today." She said, landing my attention on her again.

"What? What do you mean?" I asked, turning to her as I put down the rubble again. "I thought it would be good for us to go out for some family bonding time." She suggested, smiling at me. I stood there in silence, biting my lip nervously. "I… I don't know…" I said anxiously.

Artemis frowned, her eyebrows furrowing. "What's wrong? It's just for an afternoon." She reassured, but I was still unsure. I cleared my throat. "Arty, can we speak out in the hall?" I asked, and she nodded slowly. We exited the living room with my children looking at us in silence and confusion.

Once outside, I checked to make sure they weren't listening in, then turned Artemis as I fidgeted with my hands. "I… I don't think we should go to the mortal world." I said, making her tilt her head in confusion. "Why not?" She asked, and I simply rubbed my arm while not meeting her eyes.

My wife frowned. "You think I'm going to run away, don't you?" She said, and I nodded. What was the point of denying if she already knew? I expected her to say something, but she didn't. The goddess simply walked closer to me and grabbed my chin, making me look at her. Surprising me, she stood on her tiptoes to kiss me, instantaneously calming me.

I moved my hands to her hips, gently holding her close as we kissed, and after a minute she parted, smiling at me. "Percy, I have finally found my family, I'm finally home, what reason would I have to leave?" She asked, and I frowned. "Your hunters… they could be hurt." I said, and she frowned.

"I can try and contact Thalia to tell her to stand the Hunt down, just promise me they won't be hurt." She said, and I immediately nodded. "I'll release the orders to spare them to my armies. I don't want them to get hurt as much as you. They can't stay here though, so I hope they know a safe place to camp." I said, and she nodded. "I've taken them to a few good spots before."

Knowing that she would not abandon us on this day trip, I brought Artemis back into the living room where my children were all waiting for an answer patiently. I smiled at them. "How about we go for a family picnic?" I asked, having a location in mind. My kids immediately cheered, knowing exactly where we were going, and Selena agreed as well.

The kids rushed upstairs to get ready, and I quickly summoned some lunch in a basket for us. I decided not to go with the traditional sandwiches and instead with something much more delicious: pizza and KFC. In less than five minutes, all the kids were back downstairs dressed and ready to go. Achilles had a backpack that looked heavy, and that worried me slightly.

Still, once we made sure everyone had everything, Artemis and I flashed our godlings out to the mortal world, more specifically to some park in some city I'd visited many times with the kids.

It was a beautiful day out, and it surprised me that no one was there. The park, or at least all that I could see, was empty, which left it all for us. Artemis laid out a blanket that she'd brought along on the grass, and I set the basket down onto it. Before we could even sit down, Sapphire had run over and grabbed Artemis' hand. "Mom! Come, I'll show you the flowers!" She said, dragging my wife away with a grin on her face. Artemis couldn't hold hers in either.

I turned around, only to narrowly catch a football headed right for my head. "You up for a game, old man?" Calix asked, making me crack a wolfish grin. "Just wait 'till I pummel your head into the ground, hotshot." I mocked, passing the ball back.

We split into teams. I had Achilles and Selena on my team while Calix, Urion and Larissa made up the other team. An easy game, according to Achilles. Of course, it wasn't professional football with too many rules and positions, just get the ball and the touchdown.

I started off with the ball, and made it my first move to pass it to Selena on my right. Immediately, the other team sprung into action. Urion and Larissa charged her quickly, hoping to get the ball early, but Selena was easily able to avoid this and passed to Achilles.

Calix, who had stayed back when the game started, ran into Achilles, but his younger brother was too strong and bowled him over. Now that one enemy player was on the ground and the other two almost having reached him, Achilles quickly ran and scored the first touchdown.

He cheered, putting his hand up in an L motion to his siblings on the opposite team, as well as 'accidentally' pointing it towards Selena as well. She glared, and caught the ball as he passed it to her, which she handed to Urion for their turn.

As we got in position to start, Urion eyed us warily, and I chose to mark Larissa while my other teammates chose their targets. Sure enough, Urion passed in to her, and I immediately sprung into action. My eldest child caught the ball triumphantly, noticing my teammates on the other end of the field, but that smirk faded as she saw me rapidly approaching.

I tackled the girl to the ground, soft enough so she didn't get too hurt but hard enough so she knew not to let that happen again. With a loud 'oomph', Larissa fell onto the grass and Calix groaned. "This isn't fair, you guys have all the buff people on your team." He whined.

Selena crossed her arms. "Are you calling me buff?" She asked, offended. Calix rolled his eyes. "Oh please, you're skinny as Hades but we all know you could drop any one of us without trying." He said, gesturing to his own team. I laughed. It was funny because it was true.

Just then, I saw my wife and daughter returning and I smirked. "Hey, you too. You guys know how to play football?" I asked, pointing to the ball. Sapphire shook her head as Artemis scoffed. "Are you kidding me? I used to destroy Ares at this game. He'd always go for the tackles and not the touchdowns." She boasted.

I turned back to Calix. "Well, there you go. You guys get a champion, and we'll have a nine year old who doesn't know how to play." I negotiated, and they looked at Artemis studiously. Urion nodded. "It's better than what we've got now."

I nodded to Artemis, and she took off my old hoodie that she was wearing and ran to her new teammates. I brought Sapphire over and we all huddled together. I quickly whispered the plan to them, making sure to put extra emphasis on Sapphire's role so she knew what to do. When I made sure they all knew the plan, we separated and lined up, Achilles, me and Selena in a line with Sapphire a few meters behind me.

Sure, this plan may be against the rules, but who cares?

I started with the ball, and on the count of three, I passed it to Achilles on my left. We all ran forward, and I saw both Larissa and Artemis were heading right for me. As Calix reached Achilles, the younger brother passed across to Selena and grabbed Calix by the arms, holding him in place.

Selena caught the ball effortlessly, but was forced to pass it as Urion reached her and she did the same thing as Achilles, grabbing her brother and holding him tightly. I was the one to catch the ball, and held it in one hand as Larissa reached me, before she too fell into the trap.

Artemis saw the ball in my outstretched hand and snatched for it, but I chucked the football over my shoulder behind me. It land in Sapphire's arms, and Artemis gaze set on her. Before she could anything, however, I pulled her close with my other arm, holding both girls tightly to my chest as they squirmed.

Sapphire, remembering what she was supposed to do, sprinted as fast as she could with the ball towards the end of the field. Artemis saw this, and elbowed me as hard as she could in the gut, determined to win. I grunted and dropped her, managing to hold onto Larissa. My wife landed on her feet and sprinted after her daughter at top speed.

Sapphire turned, and after seeing her mother sprinting full-force at her, kicked it into hyperspeed and sped off. Artemis bit her lip in frustration, holding her arms out to pick the girl up. Shocking the goddess, Sapphire suddenly slid onto her knees and touched the ball to the ground, both stunning Artemis and tripping her up.

We let go of our prisoners and made our way over, high-fiving and congratulating Sapphire on her first touchdown. Smirking, I walked over to Artemis and looked down at her. She coughed, glaring at me. "You guys cheated." She scolded, and I laughed. My hand was held out towards her, and she took it. "What do you expect, I'm a god."

**Okay, again, sorry for the long wait. Been watching a lot of NFL and felt like writing a football chapter. Who do you guys support? I'm a cowboys fan myself.**

**Word Count: 3192**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27: The Vision

**I'm really sorry for taking so long with this chapter. I was writing other stuff. I've updated one story and written a oneshot since the last chapter, as well as began writing a short story which I'm not gonna post until it's complete. I got a few reviews wondering why Percy is so against Olympus, so I guess I'll kinda explain it in this chapter.**

**This one might seem a bit weird but that's because I'm trying to do it from Percy's perspective. We've had his P.O.V. really only for family stuff in recent chapters but now I want to show his thoughts on the war and his reasoning behind it.**

**Thanks for sticking around, sorry for taking so long.**

Chapter 27: The Vision

_Percy's P.O.V._

All warfare happens for a reason. Wars are never started because someone is bored, because they have nothing better to do with their life. Neither humanity nor the gods would sink low enough to cause such devastation on the world without reason.

No, there is always a reason for war. Conquest, revenge, hatred, jealousy, things like that. There is a reason for my war. There's a reason why I spontaneously gave up my life as an Olympian hero to go down this path. I have a mission, and if I fail I will no doubt face the consequences.

I know that I should not trust Typhon. He sits in my mind, messing with it day after day waiting for me to collapse. That's why I can't give up. If I fail, he wins. If I win, he wins, but he could still be defeated. Giving up this conquest would weaken me to the point where I would not be me. Typhon would be me. He can help me, but we all know that there will come a point where we can't be of any use to each other anymore. It's just a matter of who wins that fight.

It was a week after Artemis and Selena had arrived, and my family were all in the living room, on the more domestic side of the palace, watching some DVD Urion bought while in the mortal world. Yes, we still have a DVD player, get over it.

I did not join them, however. I had important matters to attend to. I did stand in the doorway for a moment smiling at the sight of Sapphire curled up in Artemis' embrace as they watched the hopefully family-friendly movie. I didn't check what it was. Anyway, I had work to do.

I walked down the hallways in silence, listening to the sound of my boots hitting the floor. After a few minutes, there was a very obvious change as it transitioned into the outer parts of the palace. We hardly ever came out here, unless we were leaving or on military business.

The temperature noticeably dropped, and there was now an absence in rugs and furniture. Now it was just cold stone halls, and at the end of one was a large wooden door that stood shut, the only signs that the inside was inhabited being the warm orange light of the fire shining through the crack at the bottom and the muffled sounds of talking from within.

I reached the door, and heaved it open after waiting a few seconds to see if I could hear what they were saying. You can never be too paranoid. Especially in the position I'm in.

Immediately, everyone shut up, and I looked around.

All my generals were crowded around a table, along with Nyx who stood off to the side with her arms folded looking at me. A space parted for me to stand in front of the table and I took it, Luke and Zoe on either side of me.

A map was laid out on the table, one which I came to recognise as the USA. Somehow they managed to get their hands on a Greek copy, which I didn't even know existed. There was a line drawn down it very bendy, not a clean straight line. It stretched from somewhere in Montana all the way down to Texas.

"What's going on?" I asked, not so much asking them how their day had been going as I was asking for a sitrep. Luke cleared his throat, pointing to the line. "This line is the border between the territories we control and the territories the gods control. Everything this side of the line is ours, including Olympus and Camp Half-Blood. We believe that the gods have fled to Camp Jupiter, though we aren't certain. We sent scouts to check the area but the Romans were already on guard, so it seems they know of Olympus' downfall." He explained.

I nodded. Of course the gods would go there, the place was pretty much a fort. Far harder to invade than camp half-blood considering all we had to do was take away the golden fleece for a few days and leave a replica so no one would notice. I doubt they've even figured out how the monsters got in yet.

Still, it'd been over a week since the attack on olympus, and we were just over halfway through the USA. "How have we not gone further? I thought we would've been at Camp Jupiter by now." I told them, and this time Ethan spoke. "We haven't been able to take Colorado yet because we were held back at Aeolus' palace. The stubborn _Master of the Winds_ chose to side with Olympus and provide shelter to some surviving Greeks, including your sisters." He said, mocking Aeolus' petty title.

My eyebrow raised at the mention of my sisters. "How has the search for them gone? I need them alive, remember?" I asked, and Ethan avoided eye contact with me for a few seconds. "Like I said, they were holed up at Aelous' palace, along with four other guys. We tried sending unarmed monsters up there to negotiate for him to hand over the girls, but they were thrown by the wind. So we attacked the palace." He explained, standing up straighter.

We all stood in silence, knowing from the border on the map where this was going. "And?" I asked expectantly, and he gulped. "Aeolus blew them away, and the ones that remained on the mountain were killed by the demigods. I chose to flee inside of throwing away my life to make it 20 metres up the mountain. I figured we could just encircle him once we advance more westward." He said. "What happened to my sisters?" I asked irritatedly.

The son of Nemesis bowed his head. "I saw them being flown west by the wind. I can only assume they made it to the Romans." He admitted, ashamed. I patted my friend on the back and stood up. "There is another problem." Bob chipped in, making us all turn to him. He bent over, pointing to the water along the east coast.

"The Atlantic Ocean. Poseidon's domain. If they enter the war we'd be fighting on two fronts, and not as many monsters can swim as they can walk." He mentioned, making some of us pale. I felt anger tear through me, and my familiar flash of gold entered my vision. I slammed my fist hard on the table. "Fuck! How did I not think of that before?!" I asked rhetorically.

My generals all stood silently as I contemplated our Eastern Front. I wasn't willing to bet that our few seafaring monsters could successfully invade Atlantis like our entire army had taken Olympus. We really had only one choice. Maybe two if push comes to shove.

"We can't fight that war. We need to move fast on the West and capture the gods. The only way we can win is if we get Poseidon to surrender his troops. If desperate times call for desperate measures, we'll send someone to the Sea of Monsters. I don't want to get them involved though, they're too wild." I decided.

Zoe stood up, crossing her arms. "And what about our Western Front? What's our next move there?" She asked. I looked at the map. Three locations in particular stuck out to me. "I don't think the old tactic of walking forward and fighting every demigod we see will work for much longer. If the gods are in Camp Jupiter, they're likely gearing up, and may almost be ready to counterattack. We need to do this quick and fast." I thought out loud.

I pointed south, to Arizona. "The junkyard of the gods. Despite its name, many things in there could aid Olynpus in the war, we need to either seize it for ourselves or destroy it." I ordered, making Bianca shiver at the repressed memories of her death.

My finger moved north, to Washington. "Mount Saint Helens. If they hold that, we're done for. They'd use the same method they used to forge the new weapons of power and arm the demigods. After that, there'd be no hope. We need to capture it as soon as possible. March troops straight from Montana through Washington to the mountain." I looked at everyone, making sure they understood. All the generals nodded.

Finally, my finger rested on roughly where the Romans would be. "New Rome. The city of demigods. The new Olympus, I guess. No doubt it's become a refugee camp. With the Camp blocking it from outside attack, they'd end up cornered there if we managed to invade." I said, and Nyx cleared her throat from the back.

We all looked expectantly as she strutted over to the table. "How about we make use of our distant territories." She said, pointing to the bottom left, where Alaska and Hawaii had been moved into boxes for convenience's sake. "What do you suggest? That we take Hawaii?" I asked, kinda confused.

Nyx shook her head. "Alaska. Home of the monsters. AKA one big military camp for us. I'm suggesting we move some troops there and move south. That way the Olympians get cornered quicker, unless they made a break for Mexico." She explained, and I thought it over.

It honestly wasn't a bad idea. March troops from the north, outflank them. They probably forgot all about the danger of Alaska what with the army marching on them from the east. "That's good. We'll go with that. Anymore concerns?" I asked, and when no one answered, I excused myself.

I sighed, remembering just how hard it was to fight wars. I remember how exhausted I was after planning that attack on Erebus with Athena, and I'd come home ready to pass out. Thankfully, Artemis was there to catch me.

Speaking of Artemis, I entered the living room, needing to know something. "Artemis, can I speak with you for a minute?" I asked, noticing the little girl snuggled up into her side. She nodded, gently removing Sapphire from on top of her and getting up. I looked at the tv, and realised they changed the movie. Probably because the child was asleep. I saw Bruce Willis on screen so I guessed that it was one of the Die Hards or something like that.

We exited the living room and entered the hallway, and my wife smiled up at me. "What's up?" She asked, and I swallowed what little saliva I could conjure in my dry mouth. "I… I need to know something…" I hesitated, thinking my words over. Yes, I needed this.

She became worried very quickly. "Percy… what's wrong?" She asked, slightly panicked. I gulped. "I need to know where my parents are buried." I told her, hoping she knew where that was. Her eyes widened, but almost immediately after, her face hardened. "Is this about the war…?" She asked, on the verge of rage, and I very quickly shook my head. "No, it's personal." I assured her.

She sighed, rubbing her left arm with the other. "I was the one who took your sisters to their funeral. It seems so long ago, but it was only a few months." She reminisced, her thoughts drifting off for a bit. After a few moments, she turned back to me. "Okay, but please don't turn this into a war situation. They're your parents." She reminded me, before handing over the address.

I nodded, quietly thanking her before she left to retake her position on the couch. I thought about where she said and smiled. _Of course it was there. Where else?_ I thought as I flashed out to the location. Our old cabin in Montauk Beach.

When I arrived, my breath hitched as I took it in. Two slight piles of dirt with wooden crosses behind them overlooked a cliff. A beautiful orange sunset rested over the calm glittering ocean, truly a glorious sight.

I approached the mounds and knelt down beside them. Here they were, my own parents… reduced to nothing but skeletons with two piles of dirt covering them. They didn't even have their own gravestones yet, since they'd only been buried for a couple of months.

A sigh escaped my lips as I fiddled with the plank of wood that read Sally Jackson. It was crooked, since it was only held on the other plank in a cross formation with one nail. Paul's had somehow stayed the same shape.

I growled under my breath. They had been taken from me by the very people I swore to destroy. They were the reason I fought this war. They were murdered by Olympus and their own children were taken in under lies.

Of course, they weren't the only reason. But it was the vision of their deaths that opened my eyes, that made me finally see all the wrong Olympus had done. I knew Arianna and Estelle would have been raised by agents of Olympus, and I knew I should have saved them. If I could've, I would've. I truly would've.

But I had no idea where they had been all these years. Not even Artemis had told me who they were raised by, where they lived. She avoided the topic of my sisters as best as she could. I knew why, though. She hated the thought of them getting hurt, of me hurting them. She never seemed convinced when I assured her that I wouldn't. They were my sisters.

"Mom… Paul… I'm so sorry…" I said, tears escaping my eyes as I held mom's grave. Flashbacks of Typhon's vision flew through my mind.

It was all planned, a conspiracy. Barely long after I 'died', Zeus ordered for the plan to go into effect. Mom was inflicted with an illness, one only the gods can give. Her cries of pain echoed in my ears as I watched her hand fall from Paul's grip to the side of the bed, limp.

Paul knew what was happening. He took the babies and tried to flee, driving his car to the airport. I watched as the infants were flashed out of their seats, distracting Paul from Ares coming up in front of him as the car sped on, and the vision faded as the sound of the brakes screeching and a crash sounded.

Then they were all in the throne room. Artemis and Hestia's thrones were empty, as they all knew neither of them would agree to it. This whole plan, all those deaths, was to secure the survival of Olympus. The find, raise and train the next 'Percy Jackson'. AKA my sister Arianna.

It was Zeus who first noticed Estelle in the other arm of Athena, but his cold demeanor did not falter. "Get rid of her." He ordered, which enraged me when I first saw this vision. Fortunately, the rest of the gods refused.

So that was the reason I started this war. Vengeance and justice.

If continued to weep over my parents for a few minutes, until I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. I shot up, expecting one of the gods or at least an enemy of mine. What I saw shocked me, and chilled me to the bone.

My mom… my dead mother stood there, next to Paul, smiling down at me. I blinked once, then twice, before wiping my eyes free of tears. It was them, exactly as I remembered them. The only thing different was the light blue glow around them, illuminated in the darkness.

I hadn't even noticed the sun had gone down.

_How was it so dark? How was it so fucking dark!? _I felt my sanity slowly slipping further and further as I looked at them. It was pitch black. I couldn't even see the graves anymore. All I saw was them.

"M-mom? Paul?..." I asked slowly, still not believing any of this. Mom stepped closer, brushing a hand against my cheek. It was cold, so very cold. "Percy." She said with a wide smile on her face.

I gently grabbed her wrist, shakily removing it from my face. "How… How are you both here?" I asked, on the verge of crying again. Neither of them answered me, but mom stepped back to stand beside Paul. "You look different, Percy. There's a glow to your eyes." Mom noted, and I wiped the tears again.

I sniffled, embarrassed at crying in front of them. "You're dead. I watched you both die. I' standing next to your graves!" I shouted, staring off into the darkness where I thought the piles of dirt were.

Paul spoke next. "Where are the girls? Where are our daughters?" He asked, and I looked at him sadly. "They took them, the ones who murdered you…. They took them and they still have them…" I said, feeling ashamed that Arianna and Estelle weren't standing next to me, also mourning our parents.

Mom choked on a sob, and Paul held her close. "Those… Those monsters have them!?" She wailed, and I felt a lump in my throat as I nodded. All of a sudden, my knees felt weak, and I couldn't bear to stand anymore.

Mom's crying stopped, and she looked over at me, Paul let her go as she walked over and knelt down next to me, placing both hands on my slumped shoulders. "Percy… You have to save them. Please…" She begged, tear-stains still adorning her face.

I nodded, and tried to reach out to touch her, but she rippled. It was like touching water, with ripples flowing out of the spot I touched. Paul began to flicker too, and Mom stood up. The rippling had stopped, but I knew they could not be here forever.

"Mom… Paul… please don't leave…" I begged, crying again. Both of them smiled at me while mom began crying again. "Find our girls, Percy." Paul said, before his image completely faded. Mom looked over at where he previously stood sadly, knowing that she'd be next.

"Mom…" I begged, wishing that she could stay, that I wouldn't lose my mom again. All she did was smile, and quietly say. "I love you, Percy." Before she faded back into death again.

I was left there on the grass crying, realising that my parents were truly gone. All I had left was my family.

**So there you have it. Percy hates Olympus because of a misunderstanding, because the vision lied. What? You think I'd actually make the gods and all of Percy's friends evil? As if, I wouldn't even know how to make people like Hermes and Jason evil and have it actually believable. Of course, the whole vision seems unlikely, especially considering Percy's previous friendship with the Olympians, but please keep in mind that Typhon is literally inside his mind now, like a parasite. Of course Percy's not himself, and he's gonna do some pretty evil things in this story. He's not just a loving husband and father, he's essentially a fucking warlord.**

**Do you guys have any questions about this story, because I read it back over like last decade (:D) and I realised there were lots of plot holes or things that probably need explaining but I can't remember them all. Do you guys have any suggestions for a Pertemis/family chapter?**

**Word Count: 3369 (lol nice)**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28: A Change Of Operations

**Sorry for not updating in a while, I've just been busy with holidays and personal issues. I'm sorry for starting a new story, but it was an idea I just couldn't let fade away with time. Also, sorry if some chapters in this story feel like I didn't put enough time in them or if this story feels rushed in general. I've always had an idea for the main things that happen in this story, and every major event was going to be there from the start, but I need topics for chapters in between those events, like this one. This is more of catching up with the other characters.**

Chapter 28: A Change Of Operations

_Arianna P.O.V._

We landed with an 'oof' on the ground in the middle of a forest as the wind finally died down. We'd just escaped a small army of monsters near that wind guy's home, but Michael had been shot by an arrow on the way out.

We all coughed and tried to regain our breath as we looked around. "Where are we?" Crassus asked as he stood up, dusting his shoulders for grass. Aaron looked around, then at the sky. "We were flown west, and judging from the time I'd say we're not in Colorado anymore. Maybe Nevada." He said.

Alex scoffed as he stood up. "Pfft, does this look like Nevada to you? Last time I checked, Vegas wasn't a forest. This must be like Hawaii or something." He judged, and Estelle glared at his stupidity. "Did you fall asleep during the trip or something? Because I didn't see any ocean. It's probably California." She reasoned, and I figured that she was probably right.

"Uh, guys, Mike's dying, remember?!" I yelled over them, breaking them out of their conversation. They nodded, and rushed over to our friend. The blonde was breathing sharply and deeply, trying his best to stay conscious despite the arrow in his chest. "Just hang in there, bud. There's gotta be someone nearby who can help." Aaron calmed, moving over to pick him up.

The son of Jason and Piper grunted as he was pulled off of the ground, and we began to move onwards. We still had no idea where we were, but surely we couldn't be that far from a road or something.

The six of us made our way through the forest, careful not to encounter any monsters along the way. The forest was quiet, like there wasn't any animals to dwell here. We weren't being quiet, either. Sticks cracked every second with our footsteps as we dragged ourselves deeper.

Hardly half an hour into our walk, everything became silent. Literally dead silence. We stopped in our tracks, and I drew my sword. A stick broke behind us, and we whirled around. When I took in the sight, I almost dropped my sword.

A huge wolf stood on the hill, staring down at us. By huge, I meant _huge_. This one could reach up to my neck probably. It was like one of those wolves from Game of Thrones, the really big ones. It's fur was dark grey, and it had bright silver eyes.

My heart sunk and a smile almost formed on my face as I looked into those silver eyes. Almost the same silver eyes as my dear friend Artemis. When a few more wolves joined the large one on the hill, I knew it wasn't Artemis. For one, I don't recall Artemis saying anything about shapeshifting, and also some of these wolves were boys, judging from their, uh, _private regions_.

We all almost fell over in shock as a loud commanding voice resounded through our heads. It took us a moment to realise it was the main wolf who spoke. "So you have arrived." The wolf stated calmly.

Aaron spoke for us, emphasising his shock. "You… You can speak?" He asked warily. The wolf nodded, before standing up and walking down the hill towards us. "I can, and I can tell you that we have been waiting for your arrival for quite a while now. What took you so long?" She questioned, but we were still in too much shock to properly answer.

I mean, we had seen _weirder_ things out there, but we weren't expecting Aeolus to drop us off with a talking wolf.

"Who are you?" Crassus voiced our thoughts exactly, and the wolf tilted her head. "Me? I am Lupa, the wolf-mother. You may know me for raising Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome." She introduced herself.

Aaron was the one to piece things together. "Wait, if you're Lupa, then we must be near New Rome!" He figured out, and Lupa nodded. "Very good, young one. You're smarter than you look." She said, and I swear she smiled. Can dogs smile?

"New Rome? The gods must have gone there! Where is it?" Estelle gathered, and the wolf-mother's expression change to one of slight anguish. "The gods are there, yes. But you will not like what you see." She warned, worrying us.

"Why? Are they injured?" I asked, worried for a select few like Artemis and my father. Lupa's eyes turned to me, and she nodded with her ears bent in sadness. "Yes, some of them are, but there is more to it than just injury. Go, you must travel through the forest. There you will find the Romans. You don't have the training I normally give to cubs before they venture to the camp, but I trust you will defend yourself." She instructed, and we nodded.

Out of nowhere, the wolf padded up to us, and she sniffed Michael's face, before nuzzling it slight in affection. "Be strong, my cub." She told him, leaving us confused and then literally.

Now alone, we continued the journey into the forest. It was going completely fine until a hellhound jumped out, knocking Aaron to the ground and making him drop Michael. Immediately, the rest of us drew our weapons, and the beast was taken care of quickly.

The rest of the trek was quiet. We crossed over a river, which was quite beautiful. Then we came upon large stone walls. Two people stood on guard at the top, who I assumed to be Romans. They were wearing metal armor, and both had golden swords strapped to their sides.

"Halt!" One of them, the male yelled. We stopped in our tracks, not wanting to get shot. The other guard, who was female, called down to us. "Who are you? State your name and business!" She ordered, seeing that we weren't monsters.

I was going to respond, but Aaron, the responsible one, did the talking. "We are demigods from Camp Half-Blood. We survived the attack, and made our way here." He explained, not wanting to be agressive.

The two looked at each other, then back at us. "Who are your godly parents?" The female asked. Aaron cleared his throat, looking at all of us. "Well, I am a son of Ares. The blonde one is an Apollo kid, the brown haired one a Dionysus kid, and this girl is a son of Poseidon." He said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"The guy in my arms is Michael, son of Jason and Piper, the heroes of Olympus, and he is injured. The other girl with us is a hunter of Artemis." He finished, making sure they knew Michael was injured to get sympathy points.

The two looked at each other again, then nodded. "Alright, come in. Jason and Piper are here, and they worry for their son." They said, advising us to seek them out first. We nodded, getting the message, and the two guards called for someone to open the gates.

The large wooden, iron-reinforced gates swung open, and we hurried inside in case there was an army of monsters waiting to sneak in.

The camp was bustling. I'd heard about this place a few times from Michael and Selena. They said it was pretty much a more militarized version of Camp Half-Blood, and I could see where they were coming from.

Soldiers hurried around, getting to their stations or attending to something like wounded demigods. We looked around for Jason and Piper, but instead found a girl who looked pretty important. Her cape was purple, and she was bossing people around.

We approached her, and she looked at the body in Aaron's arms. "Michael? Oh gods, his parents have been worried sick. What happened to him?" She asked us. Alex answered her. "We fought some monsters a few hours ago, and he got hurt." He explained.

The girl nodded. "I'm Reyna, praetor of Camp Jupiter. Well, co-praetor, but I have no idea where my partner is. Uh-" She started barking orders to some soldiers jogging past, then turned back to us. "Last I checked, Jason and Piper were in the infirmary bay, looking after some of the survivors of the Camp Half-Blood attack." She said, pointing off in some direction.

We thanked her, and made our way there. A large building was in place near a collection of bigger ones, which had latin text above them that I couldn't read. But there was a red cross on this building, so we assumed it was the infirmary.

The six of us burst through the door, startling most of the people inside. A woman came over to probably yell at us considering her stern face, but I immediately recognized her as Piper. Almost immediately, she recognized us too, and recognized the half-corpse in Aaron's arms.

"Michael! Oh gods, Jason!" She called, bending down to look at her sons unconscious form. Heavy footsteps were head, and soon Michael's much older twin rushed into the room. "Michael!? Is he hurt?" He asked Piper, infuriating the distraught mother.

"Yes he's hurt, Jason! Help me get him on a bed." She said, and Jason hurried to grab his son's legs, while Aaron kept hold of his arms. The two of them moved him to a bed and placed him down, while some sons of Apollo came over to work on him.

We stood there, worried for our friend as they worked on him. Jason put a hand on my shoulder and looked at us all sympathetically. "Come, let them work." He said, gently leading my shoulder, and by proxy the whole group, towards the door.

"You guys came at a good time. We're gearing up for war, and we're gonna need all the fighters we can get. Did you meet any other survivors on your way?" He asked hopefully, and we had to honestly tell him no.

Jason frowned. "That's bad. If… If Percy has killed half of our army all ready, and the gods have locked themselves away, I don't think we have any hope." He said, choking up at the name. None of us could belive it. I was still struggling to comprehend that my own _brother_, the one everyone idolised, the one I was pretty much aspiring to be like, was the villain of this story. The 'greatest' hero of all time, massacring demigods and betraying his family.

Then my mind clicked. "Wait, the gods are locked away?" I asked, confused. Jason frowned again, and sadly nodded. "They arrived here with a few wounded. They told everyone what happened, and then they went to Mount Diablo, over east. They never came back. We sent people over, and they found a door, no lock or handle. It was probably magic, but we know the gods are behind there." He briefed.

Crassus spoke up, distraught. "What are they doing? Are they planning? Gearing up?" He asked, and Jason shook his head. "We do not know, but I know what I think. I think they are hiding. I think Percy scared them so much that my father has decided to just let him kill us all and take over Olympus."

We all gasped, and Estelle covered her mouth in shock. "They wouldn't…" She assured herself, but Jason shook his head in pity. "Have you ever heard the story of Typhon?" He asked, and we all shook our heads, aside from Aaron, though he didn't say anything.

Jason told the story. "There was a monster named Typhon. He was the father of monsters, the most horrifying one. He was enough to terrify the gods. When Typhon rampaged thousands of years ago, you know what the gods did? They fled. They were too afraid of Typhon to fight. It was left to my father to defeat him. No doubt there's some half-truths to the story, knowing my father, but I don't doubt that the gods fled. Those are the gods we fight for." He explained.

We were all in shock, and it was me who broke first. "No. No, no, no. They wouldn't do that! Dad and Artemis wouldn't abandon us!" I screamed at him. Estelle placed her hand on my shoulder, telling me to calm down, but I shoved her off.

Jason also tried to calm me down, but I ran past him. I needed to see Dad, I needed to see Artemis. Surely Jason was wrong. Surely.

I bolted through the camp, looking for the stables. It didn't take me long to find them, and I shoved one of the soldiers away from a white horse and mounted. I grabbed the reigns, and was about to rush off, when I heard someone calling me. "Ari!" I looked, and it was Estelle.

I glared. "You're not gonna stop me, Estelle." I said, gripping the reigns tighter. My sister came up and mounted behind me, looking over her shoulders. "I know, I'm coming with you. There's the back gate!" She called, pointing over in some direction. I followed her finger, and we rushed through out into the fields.

It was quite a beautiful sight. Lush green fields all around us as the horse gallopped. We passed some hills, and there came another field. This one was entirely dirt, and dry rock. It was brown, and looked more like a world war 1 battlefield than something these Romans would live on.

"That must be their training grounds." Estelle noted. I figured she was right. There wasn't really much space to train inside the camp, since it was pretty much a fort. Estelle pointed, and I followed it. "That must be Mount Diablo." She said, pointing at a large mountain over east in the opposite direction of the sunset.

I spurred the horse into going faster, and within minutes we reached the mountain. The two of us dismounted, and we looked at the mountain in awe. There was some sort of ruins on top, but Jason said there was a door in the mountain.

Then I spotted it, blended in with the rest of the mountain wall. An outline running around some stone that seemed a shade lighter than the rest. I pressed on the door, trying to open it, but it wouldn't budge. I attempted prying, but of course it was stone, so it wouldn't budge.

I tried calling out, hoping they could hear me in the mountain. "Hello? Dad? Artemis? Anyone?" I called, and I could hear the desperation, the hopelessness in my voice. I sounded weak.

Shocking both of us, the door slid open. It truly was a door. It swung like it was on hinges, and inside was complete and utter darkness. I was about to step inside, until a man came out. It was Poseidon.

"Dad!" I cried, launching into a hug. He smiled and embraced me, waving over Estelle as he did so. My sister joined in on the hug, and I felt like crying. I pulled away, looking up at him. "Dad, was what Jason said true? Are the gods hiding?" I asked, desperately hoping I was wrong.

Poseidon frowned, and looked over at Camp Jupiter. "Ari, Estelle. It's good to see you two made it out. Have you heard from Selena or Artemis?" He asked, a glimmer of hope in his sea-green eyes.

Both our faces paled, and Estelle asked. "What? They're not here?" She asked in horror. Poseidon sighed in defeat. "No, they are not. We all split up after the attack on Olympus, but we all ended up here. If they did not, then I think our fears came true. I think Percy got to them both first, or at least what's left of him did." He sighed, thinking of his granddaughter and daughter-in-law.

I was practically sobbing now. Two people I essentially thought of as sisters were now gone, and I didn't know if they were even alive. I was still in shock about the attack on Olympus. "Dad, was that really Percy?" I asked. "Was that really the hero everybody's always preaching about?"

I was angry, angry at Percy for doing such a thing, angry at Artemis and Selena for not coming home, angry at the gods for hiding like cowards. Most of all, I was angry at myself, for which I do not know.

Poseidon embraced us both again, and looked back out onto the fields towards Camp Jupiter and New Rome. "No, it was not."

**Holy shit, I finally finished that chapter. I've been having a lot of writer's block as I said, and I'm working on an actual book, not a fanfiction. I started watching Vikings, so that's got me hooked, but it's actually helping me write a lot more. I don't know what I'll work on. Thank you to Jake on my No Choice story for pointing out the obvious and helpfully being a guest so I couldn't DM him a reply. Yes, I know I have way too many stories going on at once. I'm writing fanfictions, not a fucking bestselling book series. I doubt there are any people who care if I just stopped writing fanfictions altogether. Of course, I will still write fanfictions, but please don't be so fucking judgmental. This is not a business. The whole point in my eyes is the ideas I can share with the world. Sometimes it's better if I never finish a story, because then I can't let people down with my endings and I give them ideas to further expand in their own minds.**

**So, I'm sorry for publishing my ideas, my concepts. I'm sorry for not having the mental stability or the brainpower to finish most of my works. I'm sorry for working on my own things while not thinking that I'll be able to continue others, to not be able to bring myself to ruin my creations with my boredom, lack of imagination and frustration that I'm pressuring myself and being pressured by a few faceless people on the internet to continue these projects I burned out on a while ago.**

**I don't write these stories for praise. I write them because I don't want my thoughts and ideas to be just that. Mine and mine alone. I want other people with similar interests to be able to gain their own alternate concepts of a fucking childrens book. I will most likely continue this story, but don't expect weekly updates, don't expect me to dedicate my life to this shitty story I thought up on a walk home from school, and don't expect me to hold myself from sharing other ideas so I can come back and stretch out this shit that I could've typed up in 1000 words and given you the whole story. I do this so that I feel better mentally, so that you guys can have the chance to view my thoughts and concepts, and so that I can hone my writing skills and maintain the A+ grade my fucking family stresses me to hold.**

**I**

**Am**

**Sorry**

**Word Count: 3299**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Special Time

**I'M BAACK! I know it's been a long time, but I had to take a break from worrying about this story, but I have lots of ideas for the next few chapters. I'll work on this and some other stuff after this goes out. Also, after writing my new really long oneshot, I discovered how much better it is to write in third person, so it's gonna be that for pretty much the rest of my stories. **

**Also, yes, I know this story is way too long. It took me 20 chapters to pretty much set up the story, but those 20 chapters were not technically part of the story. If you've read the Iliad and the Odyssey, you likely know of the Epic Cycle. For those who don't, it's basically a collection of 8 (I think?) stories that all link, the two aforementioned ones written by Homer and the rest added in. You ever wondered why the Trojan Horse isn't in The Iliad? That's because they build it 2 books later and then invade Troy the book after that.**

**For example, The Iliad is without a doubt the main story in the series, but it isn't about the Trojan War. It's specifically about Achilles' rage during a certain period of the war. The book starts with Agamemnon taking his girl, and ends with Achilles cooling down and returning the body of Hector to his father, not mad at him anymore for Patroclus' death, and having reconciled with Agamemnon. But there was a book before that called the Cypria, which was the prologue and the first 9/10 years of the Trojan War. That book had the whole Paris taking Helen and all that nonsense, plus Menelaus calling the Achaeans to war. Consider the first 20 chapters of this story it's Cypria. Not much use to the story, but you need to read it to properly understand it.**

**Enjoy :)**

Chapter 29: Special Time

Artemis watched the arrow soar into the deer's skull with a loud _crunch_, before the animal hit the ground, making a huge thud. She smiled at her youngest son, Urion. He was improving a lot with his archery, which he was only too happy to learn.

She saw a lot of Orion in her son, or at least the few parts she liked about him. He was great with a bow and arrow, practically a master, but he was always eager for Artemis to teach him. Of course, he liked to be taught by her for a different reason than what Orion wanted. He was polite, and from what she had seen with his limited interactions with the females that came to their fortress in the barren wastelands of Erebus, he respected women and dared not lay a hand on them or make them feel uncomfortable. Percy had taught him good manners.

Thankfully he wasn't too much like Orion. He looked a lot like her, with her face and silver eyes, but like most of his siblings he inherited the black hair of the male Kronoan line, that is Zeus, Poseidon and Hades' sons tended to have black hair, unless you were Apollo. Urion was also humble, never taking a liking to the art of pride such as his mother sometimes tended to do, and which Selena and Achilles inherited from her. He was like his father. Unwilling to accept how powerful he really was and always dropping the credit on others.

Sometimes Artemis wished Selena was like that, and wasn't getting into brawls with various gods and demigods.

Urion clicked his tongue, going to retrieve the arrow. "I was aiming for the eye, but oh well." He said,making Artemis roll her eyes. "You're being too hard on yourself. Your father wouldn't have even hit the deer, despite how much I had him training all those years ago." She said, earning a laugh from Urion.

"Still, if I'm centimetres off, what's that gonna mean when my target's 500 metres away?" He said, while his mother sighed. "It doesn't matter, you got the headshot, quick and clean. It didn't feel a thing. Now come and skin it. Always make use of what you hunt." She reminded him, taking out her two daggers and handing one to him.

The pair quickly skinned the buck, Artemis putting the meat in a bag while Urion threw the pelt over his shoulders. They would leave the skeleton there for nature to do with it what it will.

As they walked back to a clearer location where Artemis would flash them out, they talked. "I resume my hunt for dad's sisters tomorrow." He said, trying to break the silence. Artemis frowned. "I know I promised I wouldn't get involved, but please don't hurt them. I love them as I love my own hunters. One of them even _is_ a hunter." She pleaded.

Urion nodded. "Dad doesn't want them hurt either. He just wants them at home with us so they don't get caught in the crossfire. They're all he has left of our grandmother." He said sadly, thinking of how he never got to meet the woman his father held up as a shining example of what humans should be.

Artemis smiled sadly too, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "Your grandmother was a wonderful woman. We helped each other get past your father's 'death', and she helped me raise your sister." She reminisced. Urion smiled. "Still, I would've liked to meet her." He said.

They reached a wired fence, and after throwing their loot over, managed to scale it with ease. Urion had certainly inherited her agility and hunting prowess. He had the body, patience and skill of a true hunter. Once on the other side, they made their way further into the empty field. "Sapphire's probably bored out of her mind without me there. Unless she's managed to find someone else to play with." He said, ushering her to a smooth spot.

Artemis took his shoulder. "She's very innocent. She behaves more like a 5 year old than a 9 year old, though she definitely has the intelligence of someone around the age of 11 or 12." The woman commented. Urion smiled. "Yeah, she's had a very secluded life. Dad's really protective of her, and she only leaves the castle to play with us in the mortal world. She's never had any taste of war or fighting. Dad calls her the princess of the family." He explained.

Artemis flashed them out, and they landed inside the castle with a bright silver light. Percy rubbed his eyes, having been standing in the hallway they arrived in drinking coffee. "Gods, that scared the shit out of me." He said, then saw who it was. "Oh, you guys are back. Sapphire's been looking all over for you, Uri." He said, pointing behind him presumably in the direction his youngest daughter was.

Urion turned around and hugged his mother one last time, making the woman smile and hug the teen back. "See ya mom." He said, before running off. She managed only a wave back.

Percy smiled at her, making the goddess of the Hunt tilt her head in confusion. "What?" She asked, slightly defensive that she looked funny. Percy laughed. "Nothing. I just like the motherly look on your face. It suits you, which I never thought it would when I first met you." He said.

"Well that's because you left me alone with Selena for 17 years. I had to get used to it." She said. Percy rolled his eyes. "Oh stop whining. I had to raise 5 kids by myself. Nyx had to teach me the difference between a sleeping baby and a roast chicken so I didn't accidentally switch them around." He said, continuing to walk down the hall.

Artemis took the venison to the kitchen, where they put it in the freezer for their dinner later that night. She walked around the castle for a while, before hearing strange noises. There was some muffled grunting noises coming from behind a door, and as she got closer, she heard some familiar voices. "Fuck! You're good!" She heard the distinct voice of Eris say, before Achilles spoke as well. "Not too bad yourself, beautiful." Then the grunting started again.

Artemis was horrified that she'd stumbled in on something private, but as she leaned on the door, it cracked open a bit, and she saw inside. Thankfully, it was not what she had thought.

It was a backdoor to the training grounds, and the two teen gods were sparring, though to be fair it was more like an MMA match with weapons. Eris had a sword while Achilles had some blunt axe, since using his actual one would be unfair.

The moon goddess fully opened the door and walked in, leaning against a statue and watching the two. Her son was an amazing fighter, using his strength to his advantage over her considerably smaller frame.

Achilles looked a lot like Percy. Jet black hair, sea-green eyes, tanned skin. He was basically Percy but more broader, and he had Artemis' hardened facial structure. He wasn't a brute like Hercules, but still very strong. He had the body structure of the original Jason. Big but not hulking.

Unfortunately, he'd also inherited Artemis' pride, and that led to him and Selena getting into many arguments and even becoming territorial. She wouldn't say they hated each other but they were definitely the siblings who found each other equally annoying, sorta like if Ares was her own twin.

"I understand your relief. I walked in on those two screwing once. It was horrifying." Calix had suddenly appeared out of nowhere beside her, eating an apple. Artemis jumped in shock, but then cringed as she realised what he just said. "I did not need to know my son and his girlfriend were having sex." She said.

Calix continued to eat. "Larissa was just being a dick by the way, at dinner that one time. None of us are virgins, not even her. We've all had sex with various monsters and godlings." He said, making Artemis cringe even more. "What? Why would you tell me that? Who?"

Calix shrugged. "For me Medusa was my first, but there've been a few more since. I caught Uri in a threesome last year with two servant nymphs. Achilles of course has Eris, but I did see him sneaking off with young titanesses before they got together. Larissa has always had flings with random godlings, but Sykor is the first one she's ever really liked. Thankfully Sapphire is still a virgin to my knowledge, and I pray it remains so for the rest of time. She should take up that virgin goddess business Dad says you were so fond of." He suggested.

Artemis really had no idea why she was having this conversation with her son. It was not something she wanted to know. "Let's change the subject. You really don't know how to make conversation, huh?" She said, crossing her arms and watching the fight.

Calix shook his head. "What do ya think I was just doing? Though I see why you're uncomfortable. Dad says I'm tone deaf, Larissa says I just don't know when to shut up. Did you catch anything for dinner? Me and Achilles wanted to go catch a bear, but Dad said you and Urion needed some bonding time. Selena said I wouldn't be able to wrestle a bear if I tried, or at least not a male one. So, I asked her if she wanted to, and said that she's got plenty of experience 'wrestling' with guys. Larissa had to hold her back." He rambled, before breaking out in laughter.

Artemis rolled her eyes at her oldest son, knowing that he was probably just as much trouble as Selena and Achilles, except they liked to start fights with swords and shields while Calix could just walk into the wrong place and say the wrong thing at any time. Percy was right. He was kinda tone deaf. He reminded her of Hermes. Quick to cause trouble with his tongue, but still as formidable in combat with his spear as the Slayer of Argus was with his magic wand.

"You confuse me, Calix." She told him, shaking her head with a smile. He tilted his head, smirking. "How so, mother?" He cheekily replied, earning a side-glance from the goddess. "I still cannot tell whether you are more of a warrior or a trickster." She admitted, and the teen laughed.

"When we were young, Dad told us lots of stories of the gods, and one of them he told a lot was of this guy called Odysseus. He was strong, one of the best fighters that Greece ever had, but he was blessed by Athena, which allowed him to bullshit his way out of every situation. That's what I am. I can cut off a guy's dick to escape, but I can just as easily piss on him with mine as I fly out in a Black Hawk, and I pride myself on that." He said, humoring the Goddess of the Silver Arrow.

Nevertheless, Artemis shook her head. "Don't let pride get to you. You may be able to do that, but he can just as easily sever your manhood with a well-aimed arrow as you piss. If you don't stay humble, one day you're gonna try and take on all of Olympus without your brothers and sisters to back you up, and like it or not, you're gonna lose." She warned him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

Calix smiled, looking at the two finish off their fight. "That would be the day. If I ever do that, it means one of three things: I've lost my mind; there's nothing else to lose; or I'm the only one left." He said, smiling sadly. "Let's hope it never comes to that." Artemis said, rubbing his arm comfortingly.

Finally, Achilles managed to swipe Eris' sword out of her hand and pin her down on the floor with it. "Got ya." He told her with a wolfish grin, and the girl under him smirked. "I'm at your mercy." She said, before pushing the blade out of the way and wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss.

As the two made out on the floor, Artemis scoffed in disgust while Calix wolf-whistled. "Gross. Can you guys do that somewhere private?" Artemis asked, while the two teens stood up to collect their weapons. Achilles shrugged. "What? It's not like you and dad never kissed. Probably in that exact same circumstance, knowing your guys' love for fighting." He suggested, making Calix cringe at the thought of his parents rolling around on the floor.

As Eris went to bend over and grab her sword, Calix made a photo gesture with his hands, earning a death glare from literally everyone in the room. "You're dead, bitch." Achilles said, pointing his axe at Calix threateningly. The elder brother rolled his eyes. "Oh please, you know I'd never beat you in one on one close combat. Maybe if I had a horse or were 20 feet away, but not like this. Here, trial by combat, you and mom can duke it out. If she wins, you go away. If you win, you can beat the shit out of me all you like." He offered.

Artemis sighed, needing a warm up anyway. "For the record, I have no support for what you did, Cal." She said, drawing her silver knives -the non-godly ones, of course. Achilles nodded, walking to the other side of the arena and taking a stance. Artemis got into position as well. "I'll try not to cut your throat." She said with an innocent smile. Achilles rolled his eyes, before charging her.

_Easy_, Artemis thought to herself, before effortlessly side-stepping him and elbowing the small of his back. Achilles hissed in pain, before reeling around and going for a swing. Artemis, practically a ninja, leaned to the right and dodged it, before bringing her arm to the back of his head and yanking forward, pulling him over. Achilles dropped the axe and slammed on the floor, moving to get up before he felt the point of her dagger pressing against the back of his neck.

Artemis smirked, choosing to rub it in. "You rely too much on strength and not speed. Those who are smaller than you can easily dodge, while those who are bigger can easily parry. You have to learn to balance it out." She said, removing the dagger from his neck since he'd yielded.

Achilles scoffed as he stood up. "Mom, no offense, but you don't look the type to balance speed and strength. I don't think you'd be able to knock out a guy my size in one punch." He said. Artemis narrowed her eyes. "You ever heard of Ares?" She asked.

Achilles nodded, wondering where this was going. "Yeah?" She stepped closer to him. "There are three gods Ares is too afraid to fight: Zeus, Athena," She reeled back her arm, before punching Achilles square in the nose, sending him sprawling onto the floor. "And me."

Eris' eyes widened as Calix whistled. "Damn. I'm glad both my parents are such badasses." He laughed. Artemis walked over and held out a hand, helping her son up. "Sorry, sweetie." She mocked, watching as Achilles wiped some blood from his nose. It was crooked, but Achilles, the strong guy he was, reached up and snapped it back into place, the only hint of pain being a slight grunt.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, a young blonde teen sat on the edge of a bridge, legs dangling over the Little Tiber just south of the New Rome Aviary. Michael Grace sat alone thinking over everything. He'd almost died that day on Aeolus' mountain. Some monster got a lucky shot on him and if it wasn't for the wind god getting rid of the monsters and Arianna rushing out and holding onto him, Michael would never have gotten to see his parents again.

Michael found himself thinking about the daughter of Poseidon again. They were close friends, though admittedly Michael was not as vocal with her as their other friends were. He had the Roman blood in him, so his mind was constantly hotwired on fighting and training whenever he had spare time, not partying and going to the lake like other people his age were.

Of course, he still hung out with his friends when they invited him… but only when they invited him. Truth is, Michael was socially awkward to an extent. He didn't like showing up to things uninvited, and he always made more effort to not screw everything up than he did to have fun. The amount of this skyrocketed when Arianna and Estelle began hanging out with them, since they were new and he didn't want to lose them as friends.

Crassus and Alex liked to tease him and say that it was because he had a thing for Arianna, but he didn't. That's what he told himself at night, anyway.

_Speak of the devil…_ Michael thought to himself as he heard footsteps on the stone bridge behind him. "You mind if I sit here?" He heard the all too familiar voice of Arianna Blofis-Jackson ask. He turned his head silently, then held out his hand in a 'be my guest' gesture.

Arianna sat down beside him and they looked out at the low sun. "How you feeling, tough guy?" She asked, looking at him and hitting his bicep playfully. Michael laughed, faking hurt as he clutched his arm. "Well, I might need to go back to the infirmary ward if you keep that up, but otherwise I'm fine. The wound's healed up pretty good thanks to the Apollo kids." He said.

Ari held out a finger. "We're in the Roman camp now, Mike. It's offensive to refer to the gods by their Greek names, especially when talking about the Roman's parents." She corrected. Michael just stared at her blankly for a few seconds, not getting if she was making a joke. "You do realise that Apollo's Roman name is Apollo, right?" He asked, and Ari immediately blushed, but went on the defensive. "Pfft, yeah I knew that! I was just testing ya!" She said, crossing her arms. Michael looked back out at the sun with an amused smile.

Ari tried to continue the conversation. "I know I've said this before, but your parents are really nice. I like them." She said. Michael nodded. "Yeah, but it's hard having Heroes of Olympus as your parents. It's like being a son of Zeus back in ancient Greece. Everyone expects so much of you. Then again, my parents were only one-time saviors. I can't imagine how Selena must've felt, or Hades, even you must get a lot of that, being Percy Jackson's sister." He said.

Ari immediately darkened at the mention of her brother, but quickly brightened. "Yeah, but I know Selena, and I know that she won't be affected by that as much. Either that, or she's like Artemis, and too prideful to admit that she's stressed out. Seriously, descendants of Zeus need to take a chill pill." She ranted, then realising she was talking to the grandson of Jupiter, blushed again. "No offence." She mumbled, which was met with a "None taken."

Ari looked down at her reflection, moving a stray strand of black hair back into place. "We should go for a swim." She suggested, and Michael looked at her incredulously. "What? But it's like 5 in the afternoon!" He exclaimed. Too late, however. Ari was already up and taking her shirt off. "Exactly. 2 hours after the hottest point of the day equals 2 hours before the hottest point of the day, and we always go swimming at 1ish. Now come on, get your shirt and shoes off." She said, removing her flannel skirt.

Michael sighed, before getting up and undressing himself. Soon the two of them were left in their underwear, which was pretty much their swimsuits but not made for water. Michael was hesitant to get in, so he watched as Ari dived off the bridge into the relatively deep river. After a few moments, her head surfaced, and she looked up at him. "Come on, the water's fine!"

"For a sea-spawn, maybe." Michael grumbled, before taking the plunge and diving in himself. After he surfaced and wiped the water away from his eyes, Ari clapped. "10/10 dive right there." She joked, making him laugh too.

Before he could ask what they were going to do now, Ari swam off downstream towards the lake, leaving him to trail after her. _This is good practice for if I need to chase a monster who's really good at swimming down a river, I guess_. Michael made excuses for this little excursion of his, before Ari went off a little edge into the main lake.

Since they were on the opposite side of the lake from New Rome, no one could see them out there, so they just paddled around a bit. Eventually, as always, Ari decided to do something fun. "I'm bored. You wanna see something cool?" She asked, and he shrugged. "I guess so."

The breath was taken from Michael's mouth as Ari grabbed his shoulders and yanked him underwater. He flailed around desperately, not liking the feeling of no oxygen in his lungs, before he was stopped by Ari putting a finger on his lips. Almost as id by magic, Michael was suddenly able to breathe, despite the fact that they were underwater.

"As a daughter of Poseidon, I let you breath underwater for the time being. Just don't break the surface or I'll have to do it again." She said, and he nodded. "Okay. Wow, I can talk too?" He exclaimed, surprised. Ari nodded with a grin as she saw his bewilderment.

"Now come on." She said, taking his hand and going deeper. Michael went with her, not liking the fact that it got darker the deeper they went. Eventually it was so dark that he could hardly see anything, only Ari and the limited light above. Then Ari stopped and looked at him, and Michael became confused. "What?"

She smiled. "We're here." She said. Michael looked around. "I don't see anything." He said. Ari laughed, then held out her arms wide. "What do you mean? Look around you! There's so much to see down here. Wildlife, pretty shells, we could probably find a cave if we looked." She said.

Michael laughed. "I hate to break it to you Ari, but I can't see two feet in front of me." He said. Ari smiled and reached out her hands. Michael's eyes instinctively closed, and he felt two of her fingers press against them lightly. When they went away, he opened his eyes and gasped.

It was so much clearer now. The water was a bright blue instead of eerily green. He could see various fishes swimming about in schools, and the lake floor was filled to the brim with rocks and shells of various astonishing colors. "This is where I come to relax. It was the same at Camp. I'd just take a midnight swim to the bottom of the lake to clear my head, and now with the war I've been doing it a lot here too." She admitted, rubbing her arm sheepishly.

Michael blinked. "Ari, this is amazing!" He said, forcing her to smile. "I know right. It's sad that really only children of Poseidon can experience this, cause I usually have no one to share this with." She said. Michael smiled, showing a rare case of affection and hugging his friend. "Thank you for showing me this. This means a lot to me." He said. Ari blushed the contact. "N-no problem."

Michael pulled away. "You blush a lot." He noted, setting Ari on the defensive like a wild animal when cornered. "No, _you _blush a lot." She countered like a child. Michael laughed.

They sat there, or rather hovered, for nearly half an hour, just resting against each other and watching the fish go about their business like they weren't there. They were enjoying each other's company. Eventually, Ari decided that it was the best time to make a move.

She had come to terms a few days ago that she liked Michael. She had known him for months now, but always shot Estelle down when she suggested a chemistry between them. Then, after Michael almost died and her heart was nearly broken, she realised how dear to her he was.

Now was her time to move.

"Follow me, I wanna show you something." She said, taking his hand and paddling off. Since his hand was ensnared, Michael was forced to follow her even further down until they came inches above the same. They practically crawled for a couple dozen meters, before they came upon a hole in the wall.

Ari led him in the darkness, and he was forced to rely on her guidance for him to not get lost. Eventually, they came upon one of the most beautiful sights he'd ever seen.

There was some sort of algae on the walls of a small inlet, glowing bright neon glows of various colors. He remained there awestruck for a few moments before Ari came up to him. "This is where I sometimes spend the night when I come here. It's actually quite comfortable." She said, gesturing to the smooth sand in the middle of the room.

Michael raised an eyebrow. "Really? Doesn't look very comfortable." He noted, and Ari nodded. "Yeah. My body temperature heats up in the water, and the water itself acts like a pillow. So all I need are some nightlights and a smooth surface and I'm good. Here, come lie down with me." She told him, swimming into the room and gently relaxing onto the sandbed.

Michael shrugged and followed her, managing to float the bottom next to her, where he pulled her into his side. They lay there for a while, enjoying the company of each other once more, before Ari shifted around.

He looked down at her, and she raised her head to look at him. "What's up?" He asked, and she stayed silent. Then, ever so gently, Ari leaned her head in and closed her eyes. As he realised what she was doing, he did the same, and their lips connected. As cliche as it sounds, it sent sparks up his body, and he felt like his heart could stop right there and then, and he wouldn't care one bit.

As he lay kissing the goddess of his repressed dreams, the kiss got more passionate, and he felt her arm sneak down his muscled torso. He gasped as her hand entered his boxers and grasped his package delicately. Ari parted from the kiss. "Shh, just let this happen." She whispered as she descended down his body, and he lay back in pleasure as she carefully took him in her mouth.

The two spent the night there in pure teenage ecstasy, not returning to the Camo until late the next morning.

**So, there it is. The newest chapter of this story. What'd you guys think? A bit longer than usual, but I thought I'd treat you guys. Do you want to see a full lemon between those two? Because if so, I'll write one then edit this chapter and replace it. I don't know whether you'd prefer for it to end there or if you're desperate for material.**

**As a side note, please go check out DauntlessEmperor's new story on Wattpad called The Silhouette. No, this isn't sponsored or anything, I just really like the story and I'm kinda upset that it's only got 70 reads. Also, congrats to Page9900 for getting 1000 reads on their story. You deserve it. What do you guys wanna see next in this story? Pertemis fluff? More plot? I think I can tell which one already. Have fun in quarantine. I'll probably be posting more because of it.**

**Word Count: 5040**


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Expedition

**So we're getting into some action now. There's gonna be a lot of action for the next couple chapters, which I'd like to say will be the climax of the story. That climax is coming in a few chapters, this is only the beginning of the beginning of the end. **

Chapter 30: Expedition

Ari and Michael tensed as they were summoned to the war room. The large wooden doors opened, roughly clanging when they reached the end of their hinges and slammed against the wall. Since she was on edge, afraid they were in trouble, Ari's breath hitched at this. Michael noticed and smiled, gently grabbing her hand in his. At the touch of her boyfriend's hand, Ari loosened up, smiling as they walked down the hall and into the room.

Quite a few people were there. All of Ari's friends, including her sister stood in the corner, looking nervously at the other occupants. Two campers she recognized as Clarisse and Malcolm stood at the table standing next to a guy, obviously a son of Ares, and a girl who may have been a daughter of Athena. Although, as she looked at them, she saw a Roman resemblance, indicating they were children of Mars and Minerva respectively.

Reyna, the praetor and daughter of Bellona, stood hunched over the table with her fellow praetor and hero of Olympus Frank Zhang, while Michael's father Jason Grace stood on her right. The rest of the seven, obviously not including Percy, stood behind them, being the first to see the two of them come in. As Ari looked, she also noticed the son of Hades, Nico, was among them.

As Ari and Michael entered, the four standing in the corner nodded and waved, while their friends ushered them over. They joined them, and Ari looked at the table. "What's happening?" She asked, and they shrugged. "We were just called here, they haven't explained anything." Alex shrugged, making both Ari and Michael worried as they looked at the three careful studying the maps on the table.

Crassus chose to lighten the mood and smirked. "So where have you guys been?" He wiggled his eyebrows, making the two teens blush. "Shut up! We were getting lunch in New Rome." The daughter of Poseidon told them, and surprisingly it was Estelle who decided to tease them next. "Just lunch? Or perhaps a _date_?" She winked.

Ari's face was practically flaming now. "No! Yes? I don't know, it was lunch! Why are you guys making such a big deal out of us dating, anyway. For the past week you guys haven't shut up about it." She crossed her arms, and their friends laughed. "Because, dear Ari, you always react in a way that makes us wanna make a big deal about it." Alex chuckled.

Ari sighed, but Michael stepped in. "Ignore them, they're just being assholes. Let's go find out what's happening." He said, leading her over to his parents and the table. Before they could reach them, however, the three adults stood and faced the children.

"Okay, guys, this is serious, so please listen." Piper asked nicely, and they all nodded. Reyna cleared her throat, moving to stand behind the table.

"I'm gonna give it to you straight. We're fucked. The gods are hiding, Olympus has fallen, and Per… Perseus' army is marching west as we speak. By our estimates, they're roughly at Utah by now, which likely gives us only a few days before they reach New Rome. If they reach New Rome, well… we won't hold long." She told them, making everyone's faces fall.

Jason chimed in. "But there is a plan. I'll admit, it's highly unlikely to be successful, but we have to try. To the north lies Washington, and in it Mount Saint Helens, where the new godly weapons of power were forged 17 years ago. We believe Perseus will head there and try either to arm his army or create a weapon for himself powerful enough to destroy our entire army with only a few swings. As you can probably tell, we intend to stop him." He said.

Reyna leaned over the table staring at him. "I cannot express how important this mission is. If it fails, New Rome falls and they win." She said, and everyone was silent. Aaron swallowed. "So you want to send us?" He asked, and she nodded. "We're sparing our best fighters for this. You shall be accompanied by the rest of the Seven, Nico di Angelo, and the what remains of the Ares and Athena cabins, as well as every son and daughter of Mars and Minerva. This army should be capable enough to handle whatever divisions Percy spares for Mount Saint Helens as he marches on New Rome." She told them.

The shocked demigods looked at everyone else in the room, especially to the Ares/Mars and Athena/Minerva leaders. The son of Mars placed a closed fist to his heart and nodded. "It would be our honor to fight alongside you all for the glory of Rome." He assured them, to the agreement of Clarisse, Malcolm and the daughter of Minerva.

Frank then stepped forward and smiled. "It is our duty to protect you all on this mission, and that we will. I personally promise that you will all make it home unharmed." He promised, which was risky.

The rest of the seven nodded, coming over to stand next to them. "We've _commandeered_ transports to take you all to Washington and capture Mount Saint Helens. You'll leave at sundown. Good luck." Reyna ordered, before exiting.

The demigods were escorted out of the room, and left to say their goodbyes and get their things together.

They didn't really have to say goodbye to anyone, since everyone they knew was coming on this trip. They packed light, only a backpack each. Eventually Arianna stood outside a few jeeps and a school bus with her arms crossed over her chest while they all waited for the rest to show up.

Of course, the last one to arrive was Crassus, who grinned sheepishly at her and their friends as he chucked his backpack on the floor of one of the jeeps. "Alright, let's go." Jason nodded, and they boarded their 'commandeered' rides.

Ari sat in between Michael and Estelle, while Jason and Piper sat in the front. When everyone was packed in, the school bus full of war children, Reyna slapped the hood of the school bus, indicating they were ready. The daughter of Bellona watched as the convoy of their finest warriors took off, heading through the small path in the forest towards Lupa's cave and the tunnel out into the normal world. _Gods, I hope Anya doesn't crash that bus._ She said, worrying for the daughter of Minerva's driving capabilities.

Ari reached into her backpack and pulled out some earphones, offering one to Estelle. Her sister gladly accepted, and they played some of Ari's music to help pass the time. The trip would roughly be 12 hours, so she was not looking forward to having to sit in a jeep for nearly half a day.

The daughter of Poseidon suddenly gained an idea on how to pass the time, and reached into her bag. "Aha!' She said, pulling out an old Nintendo Switch, loaded with pre-downloaded games already on there. Michael and Estelle looked over with interest as she loaded up Breath of the Wild, desperate to find something to do besides stare out at trees.

And so they sat for at least a few hours, taking turns on various games. Dark Souls was likely the most fun, as none of them were pro gamers, so it was great to laugh at whoever was playing for dying in less than 20 seconds. Plus the feeling of beating a boss fight was likely the equivalent to a shot of heroin, Ari wouldn't know.

About 6 hours into the trip, at midnight, the convoy finally decided to pull over and get a bite to eat, so while the bus and one of the jeeps pulled into a parking lot to wait, the other jeep went through the drive thru of a nearby McDonald's.

Ari felt instant elation when she was able to stretch her legs, looking around the abandoned lot off the highway near Medford, Oregon. She heard feet crunching the pavement behind her and turned around. Estelle stood next to her, rubbing her hands vigorously to try and warm them.

"Hey." She said, and the daughter of Poseidon smiled. "Hey." She replied. The huntress zipped up her silver parka, courtesy of the hunters. "Fuck me, it's freezing out here." She noted, making Arianna smirk. "I thought you people weren't allowed to do that kind of stuff anymore." She joked, and Estelle gave her a flat look. "Haha, very funny. Just wait until Michael finds another girl and you wanna join." She said. Ari rolled her eyes. "Like that'll happen."

Estelle looked around. "Oregon's always scared me." She told her, making Ari raise an eyebrow. "What? Why? Like I get Maine or Florida, those places are fucked for different reasons, but Oregon?" She asked. Estelle nodded. "Yeah, this is where all the Bigfoot sightings come from. Plus, I've seen videos of the forests here, and they get foggy and creepy as shit all the time." She warned her. Ari couldn't help but giggle at the Bigfoot part.

"Well, if we get lost in the foggy woods, I'll protect you from Bigfoot." She promised, making Estelle punch her in the arm.

Mere miles away, south of the demigods, four padded feet trudged over to the highway. Black fur bristled in the cold midnight breeze, bright eyes looked around. The large wolf sniffed left and right, before a hand was pressed against the side of its head calmly.

The boy next to the wolf looked right, his eyes following the highway before looking up at the moon. _They're moving north_. The teen noted, black hair flowing in the wind.

Silver eyes squinted as he stared at the highway, the scent of demigods fresh under his nose. It would be an easy hunt, no doubt. They were obviously in a vehicle if their scents were following the highway, he just had to follow the road.

There were just questions. Why were they heading north, away from the safety of Camp Jupiter? Why were they accompanied by so many? He could tell it wasn't just his aunts. There were far too many scents, dozens. A map appeared in his mind, and he mentally tried to pinpoint any strategic locations on the map that they may be heading to.

He briefly considered the possibility of them fleeing to Canada, but decided it wasn't likely. That really left only Washington and the rest of Oregon north of here, and what was in Washington?

Urion Jackson smirked as he looked down the highway, realising where his prey were headed. _Oh, they are gonna be in for a big surprise_. He thought to himself, before patting Fenrir into gear and speeding down the side of the road next to his hunting wolf.

Arianna sat in the jeep, chowing down on a double cheeseburger. Jason had the radio playing, providing some good background noise to eat in peace. It tasted good. Fast food had always been good to her, though she didn't eat much of it.

Michael was barely awake in the seat next to her, while Estelle was fully passed out on her other side. She looked at her boyfriend and smiled. "You good?" She asked, and the blonde nodded. "Tired." He yawned. She nodded, zipping his hoodie up for him so he was warm. "Sleep, then." She told him, and the boy nodded as if that was obvious.

She turned her head to look out the window, waiting patiently for the war kids to get settled so they could leave. The night was cold, especially in a town in the middle of nowhere. Hell, Arianna couldn't even remember the name of the place they were in. The wind whistled as the trees shook, drawing her attention.

The woods on the outskirts of the parking lot, which was conveniently on the edge of town, were dark in the night, she would even say pitch black. The only thing you could see in the treeline was the faint outline of the trunks, mere lines protruding from the ground.

As she stared longer, faint lights appeared in the darkness, ones that Arianna wasn't even sure were real. Faint green glows about 2 feet off the ground. She squinted a bit, and saw they weren't floating. There was another faint outline, this time not like that of a tree trunk. This shadow was longer horizontally, and moved ever so slightly.

The shadows moved again, and this time one introduced itself to her. It looked much like a tree trunk, except this one had moved into place. Trees don't walk around.

Ari's heart sunk as she deduced what the shadows were. Trees did not move, and ghosts were not that dark. That was a person, and mortals did not look at them as intently as this shadow seemed to be. This thing was of their world, and anything good had retreated to their homes days ago. Only one thing would dare to be out at night like that in times like this, the enemy.

Ari suddenly stood up, getting on her seat and sticking her head out of the sunroof. "We need to go!" She called, attracting the attention of the seven who were chatting with each other. When looks of confusion appeared on their faces, she pointed to the treeline, where the two shadows were beginning to reveal themselves.

The person reached for their back, and the seven kicked it into gear. Frank smacked the hood of the bus, indicating it was time to leave, before he ran to his jeep and got in the driver's seat.

Michael and Estelle were awake now while Jason and Piper sprinted over to their jeep. Estelle looked around drowsily as she tried to figure out what was going on. "Wha's happening?" She asked Ari, who was sitting back down and putting her seatbelt on. Her sister gave no answer, so she instead turned to her left to look out the window.

Upon doing so, she saw a large wolf, much larger than normal, bounding for their vehicle. She nearly screamed, and Piper and Jason finally got the car and shut the doors.

Jason put the keys in and turned on the ignition, but before he could speed off the wolf leaped up and latched onto the side of the car, sticking its head in the window and biting down hard on Piper's arm. The woman screamed, and Jason hit the accelerator. With a loud screech, the jeep took off, but the wolf managed to stay on the vehicle, latched to Piper's arm.

Piper felt like it was gonna tear off her flesh, and likely take a few important arteries with it, so she did the only thing she thought would work. As Katoptris was in her pocket, she resorted to her fists, and socked the large canine on the face. The wolf immediately yelped and fell off, thankfully taking none of her arm with her, but the goddess still bled quite a bit of ichor.

Ari sighed as they sped out of the parking lot, the other vehicles close behind them. In the last jeep, Alex and Crassus did the same in the back seat. Their relief was short lived, as an arrow shot through the seats behind them, sliding in between their arms before staying stuck there. The two hissed at the arrow cut them, but the problem was solved by Aaron snapping the arrow so they could lean back without fear of cutting open any more skin.

Urion cursed from a hundred metres away as the arrow failed to hit its mark, and his targets got away.

Many hundreds, technically thousands of miles away, swords clashed. Gold against bronze. A sharp _clang _rang out as they connected, and the wielder of the bronze blade tried her best to hold her ground. The taller, much more skilled wielder of the gold sword parried her strike, and with swiftness she had no hope of countering, swept her legs out from under her.

Selena grunted as her back hit the solid ground, and she panted as she looked up at her father. Percy smiled, returning his magic weapon into its original form of a ring on his middle finger. He held out the same hand to her. "That was good, really good." He told her.

Selena raised an eyebrow as she was helped to her feet. "Are you sure? Cause I'm pretty sure I lost." She told him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's not about whether you win." A voice said from her right.

Achilles, Calix and Larissa stood to the side, watching the two spar. Calix was the one who had spoken. "There's no beating dad, he's the greatest swordsman Olympus ever saw, and that was before he 'died'. He's been training ever since, he's unstoppable. It's not about whether you win, you can't beat him. But you lasted a hell of a lot longer than anyone expected you to." He told her.

Selena capped Riptide and put it in her pocket. "He's right. I've trained your siblings all their lives, and they've only lasted that long a few times. You're a newbie, and yet with enough training, perhaps you'll grow to be the best warrior out of them all." He said, making Achilles scoffed. "I'd like to see her try." He said.

Selena pointed the pen threateningly at him. "Keep it up and it put this in your eye, uncapped." She warned, making her younger brother smirk.

Artemis then walked in with Sapphire holding her hand, saving them from watching another fight break out between the two. "Urion mind-messaged me. He wants to speak with us." She told her husband, who nodded.

With a snap of his fingers, he flashed Urion and Fenrir into the training room, resulting in a horrifying sight. The youngest son of Perseus was clearly in the middle of some business, and a yellow stream started to pour all over Percy's boot.

They all cried out in disgust, and Urion yelped at the disturbance. Thankfully, he was finishing off when he was flashed there, so he quickly tucked it away and looked up in fright. "Holy shit that scared me. Of all the times you could've flashed me?" He asked. Percy shrugged, looking down at his ruined boot. "Your mother just gave us the message." He said, pulling off the soaked footwear.

He nodded, clearing his throat. "I tracked them down to a parking lot in Southern Oregon, but I was surprised to find they were not alone. I surveyed their pack, and recognized them, their friends, the seven, and a school bus full of people I didn't know. Probably demigods. Fenrir and I attacked, but they got away." He reported.

Percy sighed, rubbing his head. "So they've got a convoy protecting them. Gods, that makes things so much more difficult. Anything else?" He asked tiredly, and Urion nodded. "They were heading north, presumably to Washington or Canada." He said.

Percy turned to face a wall. "Washington?" He asked quietly. Urion didn't answer, knowing his father was thinking. The eyes of everyone else in the room widened as they got on his line of thinking. "They're heading for Mount Saint Helens." Artemis whispered, shocked.

Percy turned around, solemn. "Selena, you are an excellent warrior. In fact, if you wish, I will allow you to fight alongside us in the upcoming war. That way you can also try and talk down your friend. Consider this carefully, war is not as fun as the legends make it seem." He said. Artemis was about to protest her daughter going off to war, but was cut off by the girl in question. "Yes."

Percy stepped forward and placed two hands on her shoulders. "Are you sure? There is a chance you may never return, you are a godling after all." He warned. Selena nodded without hesitation. "I want to fight by you, all of you." She said, turning to face her siblings.

The children of Perseus smiled warmly, and summoned their weapons. The four stood up, ready, and Percy turned to Artemis. "I assume you'll be staying neutral? The hunters should be hidden away, none of my monsters have reported seeing them." He told her. She nodded. "Then I taught them well, and yes, I will stay here with Sapphire." She bit her lip. "But… Please come back." She said.

Percy approached her and grabbed both of her hands in his own. "I promise, moonbeam." He said, quickly pecking her on the lips, though to them it felt like an eternity. Calix turned to Larissa and gagged, making his twin laugh.

Percy separated from her. "Nyx! If you would so kindly bring the horn!" He called to nothing in particular, or so it seemed. After a few moments, there was a blinding black flash, and the primordial goddess of night stood in front of him. In her hands was an item, a white curved horn, shining and unused.

Percy thanked her and took it, carefully resting in his hands. He looked up at his children, save for Sapphire, who were armed and ready. "Now, who's up for a family trip?" He asked with a grin.

**Okay, I know what you're gonna say. This was due like two months ago, and you're right. I'm sorry, but No Choice blew up (at least on ) and I preferred to work on that for 10 or so chapters. I'm back with this story, so now I'm mainly updating this, No Choice, and I guess Taste and I Wouldn't Mind (once I actually start the next chapter of that). **

**Also, no disrespect to any good people on , but I just have to say that all of the people who vocally disliked my story, or at least had any problems with it, were on that site. So I just wanna take the time to say screw you (only a small minority of users. The rest of you are cool). Like, I literally got a review on No Choice an hour ago saying that he was gonna report me for 'encouraging' people to smoke weed because Percy and Artemis smoked some for a scene and didn't burst into flames. Weed is legal where I live, it's harmless, get over it. I wasn't even encouraging it, I just stated that Percy sometimes does it and then they did it for like a third of the chapter. Plus other dumb shit like people getting mad at me for having two people talk in a paragraph. **

**While I'm not gonna abandon this story like I feel some people may have taken from the authors note two chapters ago, I am gonna start paying less attention to because people like that are the reason I lose motivation to write after spending a whole day thinking up good ideas. Again, most of you are cool, but every time this story gets a sudden influx of reviews, 9/10 of them will be supportive, but there will be that one guy flaming me for 'horrendous' grammar that sets me off writing for days. One last time, I love most of you, but to the few people who complain about the dumbest shit and ruin my day, fuck you.**

**Sorry for this really long Author's Note, but I had to put it out there. Actual conflict and drama and shit will be coming in the next many chapters, so keep an eye out for that. If you haven't already, check out my other stories. Thank you to those who continue to support me, especially on . Thank you also to my girlfriend for writing the lemons to the upcoming Taste chapter so I didn't have to. The Percy x Artemis one was spicy.**

**Word Count: 4040**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31: The Last Line

**Sorry there are such big gaps in between updates for my stories, but that's the way it be.**

Chapter 31: The Last Line

The group of demigods arrived at Mount Saint Helens early in the morning. The massive mountain stood tall and proud in the clear morning sky. Arianna stared up at the snowy mountain top in wonder and amazement. They were a long way from Manhattan.

The war children all exited from the school bus, looking up at the mountain with either disinterest or utter fascination, depending on their parent.

Jason slammed the door to the jeep, looking over to make sure everyone was out and ready. "Okay, everyone good?" He asked, receiving many nods and a few 'yep's in return. The god nodded, then turned around. "Okay, follow me." He ordered, marching off towards the mountain.

The entire convoy moved behind him, with two of the Seven at the front and back with one on either side of the large caravan. The small force came to the base of the mountain, when Jason stopped them.

Annabeth stepped forward and studied the rock, stroking her chin in deep thought. She approached a flat stone wall and began to feel around, looking for some kind of hidden key like the one on Daedalus' Labyrinth.

The Ares, Mars and Athena campers all looked at each other in confusion as they watched 'Percy Jackson's ex' use her world-renown brain skills to solve this predicament.

Suddenly she noticed something, and proceeded to attack it with everything she had -intellectually, of course. As Arianna moved closer to the wise girl, she noticed there was a slight crevice in the stone, too perfect to just be some geographical feature. Annabeth was trying her hardest to pry it open like it was on a hinge, but it would not budge.

"Here you go, Annabeth. Give us a go." Frank said, stepping forward with Jason. The two gripped the groove in the wall tightly and looked at each other. Frank counted them down. "3, 2, 1, pull!" The two gods pulled their hardest, back towards them, off to both sides, even down, the stone wouldn't budge. "Are you sure this is a door, Annie?" Jason asked, panting.

Estelle folded her arms, impatient at her unofficial step-cousins. "Maybe its a push door?" She said sarcastically, but was soon shoved aside by someone. It wasn't rough, but she still glared at the person who moved her.

"Step aside, ladies. My time to shine." Leo declared, grinning at all four gods who were standing next to the door. The four of the Seven standing there all rolled their eyes as Leo rolled up his sleeves like a cartoon character. He spat on both hands dramatically for extra grip, and did some fake stretches in front of the door.

The entire crowd looked entirely unimpressed as the son of Hephaestus took his sweet time, but they were thankfully saved from the torture not long after.

Leo placed both hands firmly on the crevice, taking deep breaths. They all waited for his underwhelming show of macho and strength, and oh boy it came.

With seemingly no effort, Leo slid the rock to the side like it was a backyard glass door. He grinned and turned back to the crowd, dusting off his hands effortlessly. "Easy peasy lemon squeezy!" He boasted jokingly.

Frank and Jason's jaws had dropped while Piper facepalmed. Annabeth sighed. "I guess Hephaestus locked it so only him and his children could enter." She admitted in defeat, but Leo hadn't heard her.

The minor god of the forge had already taken off into the darkness, shouting with a long and drawn out 'wheee!' as he went.

Arianna was the first in after him, and soon the entire group followed. The sound of weapons and light armor clunking as they jogged along the dark hallway was deafening to Arianna, but thankfully Leo had started a fire on his palm up ahead, providing light as they went.

They ran for well over a minute, before finally the hallway expanded and they found themselves in a much larger room. There was light coming from ahead of them, so Leo snuffed his flame. "Woah." He said, walking forward towards the light. The Seven finally caught up with him, and they all stared down into the glowing out that Leo was fixated on. Arianna soon followed, and her eyes widened exponentially.

There was magma at the bottom of the crater, but it wasn't black or orange or gray like you'd think. It was pure gold, like a pool of flaming hot ichor. The magma ran deep, as you could see an extremely large silhouette a few meters from the surface of the pool.

"Typhon." Michael whispered, speaking everyone's thoughts aloud. For some reason, Arianna felt her stomach churn at the name, and staring down into that pool was like staring into the lifeless eyes of a dead body. It was not a comforting feeling.

Jason turned around and called two Ares campers over. He found two sticks on the ground and held them out to Leo, who got the message and lit them ablaze. "Go light this place up a bit." He instructed the Ares kids, who nodded and ran off with the torches like Olympians. The sportspeople, that is.

Annabeth wandered around the derelict forge of Hephaestus. It hadn't been used for over a week, which had very clearly taken a toll on the stratovolcano. All the machinery was shut to a halt and cobwebs sat in every corner, giving off a haunted, eery vibe.

She walked past a doorway free of doors, which held a staircase inside. She hummed at the find, but knew it was not the time to go exploring in the pursuit of knowledge. This was a military campaign, they were to hold the mountain so that the Romans could reorganise themselves and create a proper front against the monsters. This mountain was their last line. If it fell, New Rome was cornered.

Arianna walked past her friends, who were by a stone pillar chatting calmly. Aaron nodded at her as she passed, and she nodded back in recognition with a smile. She approached her sister, Estelle. "I don't like this place." She told the girl.

The newest hunter of Artemis looked around the cave. "Yeah, same. Feels like there should be ghosts. At least the lava provides light, I guess." She said. Michael then walked over, hands in his pockets. "Actually, we're in the volcano, so it's magma." He corrected. Estelle rolled her eyes, arms still folded. "Nerd." She muttered.

Michael cracked a grin at her before turning to Ari. "This place is nice." He told her, to which his shivering girlfriend shook her head. "I'm tempted to jump into the magma just so I can warm up." She joked.

Michael smirked and gestured with his hands, which were still in his pocket. "Shoulda dressed warmer. It _was_ like 6 when we left." He reprimanded her, earning a glare from the daughter of Poseidon. "Okay, Ragnar. Just because you dressed like a viking doesn't mean we all thought Washington was gonna be sub-zero." She said irritatedly.

Michael laughed. He had dressed in a thick fur coat, made of possum or coyote or something. Ari was never good with furs. She, on the other hand, was dressed only in a blue t-shirt and skinny jeans with a hoodie on top. She looked on at Estelle's parka and Michael's coat in envy.

The son of Jason smiled and held out his arms. "Oh, come here you big baby." He said, and Ari leaned into his embrace. The noticeable change in temperature was not missed, as Ari had to fight not to moan at the salvation.

Estelle rolled her eyes and gagged. "Get a room, you guys. Or… cave, I guess." She said, looking around at the rock above.

Jason clapped his hands, getting everyone's attention. "Alright, I guess this is the part where we hold it. You two, go find a place you can act as lookouts, a vantage point where you can see all around, or at least east and south. Not much coming from the other directions. And watch out for booby traps, I don't know if Hephaestus is the type of guy to set them but I wouldn't be surprised. This place is pretty important after all." He announced, ordering around two Athena kids. The blonde boy and girl nodded, then set off down one of the dark hallways.

"The rest of you," He said, looking out over them all. "Get some rest. You may need it if Perseus' forces do decide to come." Jason flinched at the name. He still hadn't gotten used to or even properly accepted that the Hero of Olympus was now its greatest enemy, and that the humble and kind son of Poseidon was determined to kill them all. None of them had. None of them would.

"Hey guys!" Alex called, approaching them. He pointed a thumb back at their friends. "Me and the guys were gonna go find somewhere to sit outside, get a nice view. Wanna come?" He offered.

In truth, Ari was not at all eager to go out into the cold morning air, and she voice this opinion. "Uh, _hello_, it's like 5 degrees in here! Outside's probably way worse." She said, crossing her arms. Alex shrugged. "Catch some sun then." He advised, but she countered this. "I'll catch some wind, you mean."

The daughter of Poseidon was stubborn, and Michael got tired of this. "Oh for crying out loud! Just take my coat then, you baby." He sighed in defeat, slipping his fur coat around his girlfriend's shoulders. She smiled at the warmth and kissed his cheek, making Alex and Estelle once again gag. "Such a gentleman." Ari smirked. Michael rolled his eyes. "Come on then, let's go." He said.

The four of them met with Aaron and Crassus, and the gang ventured out into the mountain. They took a different hallway to the one to lookouts had gone down, and within minutes they found a staircase off to the right. It looked promising to the demigods, so they ascended, and doing so would be one of the greatest mistakes of their lives.

Not because there were traps or monsters or anything, but because the climb was _so damn long_. Arianna, despite her training and stamina, found herself panting after the first full minute. After two minutes, she was nearly dead, and half a minute later they reached the top.

Crassus was the first to reach the top, and he looked around in sheer confusion. "Okay, that stairway is magic, because we did not climb enough for _this_." He said, gesturing to the view.

Ari was third to summit the steps, and soon she realised what her friend was talking about.

They stood at the peak of Mount Saint Helens, or one of them at least, on a small cliff that jutted out from the cave entrance. They were far too high up for it to have been only a two and a half minute climb, likely confirming Crassus' suspicion that the stairs were enchanted to allow for a quicker trek up to the top.

"Wow, you can see _everything_ from up here. This… this shouldn't be possible." Aaron said, scratching his arm. Ari did a 360 degree turn and realised her friend was correct. They could clearly see the ocean, which was not possible from the peak of Mount Saint Helens. It was as if their rendering distance had been increased a thousand fold. As she turned north, she could swear the landmass she was looking at was Canada.

The group stared out in wonder across the many mountains and the fields and the hills, far past the cities and borders and coastlines. They stared until one of them noticed something in the distance. "What is that?" Estelle asked, walking closer to the edge and squinting out at the distance. The group walked up beside her and looked out, noticing something faint.

It was a blur from such a distance, but it was big, far too big to be a vehicle, and it was moving in their direction. They all pieced it together relatively quickly, but Arianna was the one to speak the name aloud. "Perseus."

The second she said that, they all shot into action. The six of them clambered back into the cave and rushed down the steps. It was made all the much harder by the fact that they were descending stairs, and could only move so fast. Many times Alex at the front was nearly shoved over by the group behind them as they tried to get back to the forge to warn everyone. They couldn't be sure that the lookouts had seen what they had seen.

Since they were running, it took only a minute to reach the bottom, and they sprinted for the forge where they had left all their allies. When they reached the large clearing, it was nearly empty, save for the Seven.

Jason marched over, slightly annoyed. "There you are, what took you so long?" He demanded, mainly from his own son. Michael was silent for a second, shocked at his father's snappish attitude. "We-" He tried, but Jason sighed. "Sorry, just… Perseus' army is here. We've sent the war children out to defend the mountain, but we're going to stay in here." He told them.

Ari stood forward in disbelief at the son of Jupiter. "Stay here? What the hell is that gonna do when our friends are out there fighting by themselves? Did you not hear how many there were? There must have been hundreds, thousands!" She cried, shocked that he would even contemplate sitting inside the mountain.

Annabeth spoke up from beside Jason, saving the two from an argument neither wanted to have. "It's best if we stay inside, Ari. It wasn't just monsters out there, it was…" She choked on her words a bit. "The Athena kids said they saw Percy, or at least how he had been described at Olympus. Head of the army along with a few others, tall, menacing. Different from the monsters, at least." She said. "If Percy's here, I don't think he intends to stay on the field." She said.

Jason clenched his fists. "That isn't Percy." He grumbled with gritted teeth. Annabeth looked down in sadness, realising he was right.

Ari looked over to her boyfriend, who was still in a bit of a shock from his father snapping at him like that. He made a side-glance towards her and smiled reassuringly, despite the tense atmosphere.

The group of friends walked over to one of the rock walls, away from the Seven, and Ari leaned against the hard rock. She rubbed her face tiredly, and her sister came closer. Needing the support, she transferred her weight onto her sister's shoulder while she did the same, and the two stood practically holding each other up.

Arianna thought back to everything that had happened the past couple of weeks. One day she was fine, eating breakfast in the dining pavilion with her fellow demigods. Her friends were still happy, Selena was still there, Percy was dead. Then it all went wrong. Now Chiron and most of the Greeks were dead, Selena and Artemis were missing and likely kidnapped, and everything was just so confusing.

"So, like, what do we do after we hold this? Do we stay here or head back and _let _this place be taken?" Crassus asked, and none of them could answer. It all seemed so pointless. If they stayed here for the whole war, New Rome would surely fall without its best fighters, but if they left then the enemy would have a gigantic advantage over the demigods. It was all so futile.

"I just wanna go home." Alex said weakly, crossing his arms sort of in a self-comforting fashion. Aaron frowned and put a hand on his companion's shoulder, but it didn't do much to help.

Suddenly Michael's head snapped up like a dog, and he was now on high alert. "Did you hear that?" He asked, and the rest of them frowned at each other. They turned around to find that the Seven had also been alerted by the noise, and were gripping their weapons tight.

With a loud bang, the great doors to the tunnel burst open, and Ari felt herself become heavy and slow. She felt like she could hardly raise her arms, and as she looked she saw she was raising her arms, but extremely slowly. Seemingly the only part of her still working at a normal speed were her eyes and brain.

Everyone else in the room seemed affected by this, or at least her friends. Much of the Seven still seemed free, if a bit disoriented and confused. Her eyes snapped to the door and widened.

Five dark shapes sped out of the blackness, quicker than anything she had seen before, and she felt her breathing constricted slightly.

Suddenly she could move normally again, except that she couldn't as she felt something holding her back. When she looked side to side, the daughter of Poseidon realised there was an arm around her waist, and a familiar blade at her throat. "S-_Selena?_" She asked raspily, only for the hold on her waist to tighten.

"Be quiet and do as I tell you." She said quickly, and Ari's mind went into overdrive. She looked around the room and her eyes widened. Four of her own friends suffered similar fates.

Michael was held by the other girl, Estelled by the smallest guy, Aarom by the largest guy, and Crassus by the other guy. Alex stood off to the side in panic, and backed up close to the Seven. Hazel and Annabeth parted to let him stand next to them, as the Seven had formed a back-to-back circle in the middle of the room.

As the demigods calculated what to do next, a sharp clapping came from the dark hall. _Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap._ And from the shadows emerged a man, a greatly powerful man, and one Ari knew immediately. Some may have thought of him as the devil, with his charming looks and malicious grin and devious eyes, but she knew that face. It was the face of legends, legends that were far from the present truth.

Perseus, Bane of Olympus.

"Oh dear, Jace. I knew you were never much of a tactician, but _come on_. Did you really think that you could hold this place with such a meager force? I'm afraid all you've done is divide and conquer, minus the important bit." He chuckled, strutting into the room with the swagger of a movie villain.

Jason glared. Perhaps no one hated the man in front of him as much as the Son of Jupiter. Most were confused, in denial. Jason Grace was unforgiving. "_You_." He hissed you clenched teeth.

Perseus carried on though, ignoring the comment. "I mean, you had _Reyna_ to convince you not to do this, or did she perhaps come up with it? I don't know the current chain of command at Camp Jupiter, but I do know they're left without gods to pray to like usual. I mean, you of all people, Wise Girl, should have noticed how stupid this is." He ranted.

"What do you want, Percy?" Frank asked, eyeing the other people in the room warily. Percy laughed.

"You know, have I even introduced you to my children yet? Ooh yeah, bet you didn't know I had kids. Well, except for the one I actually _had_, over there." He said, pointing at Selena. Ari's breath hitched for a moment as she thought he was pointing at her, and despite having listened to the conversation, thought hid pointing would signal her execution.

"Well that one holding my dear sister is Urion, the youngest. The one with the big boy son of Ares, dios de la guerra, is my boy Achilles. The guy with the other dude I don't know is Calix, and the girl holding your _son_ is her older twin, Larissa." He introduced.

Larissa, as he said, rolled her eyes. "Dad, can you hurry up?" She asked impatiently, and he chuckled. "Okay, okay, here's what we're gonna do. We all know you can't fight us, so I'm willing to make a deal. You can leave happy as Larry and we will not attack you on your return to New Rome, provided you hurry your asses up of course." He said.

Jason looked around at the five hostages. The god sighed in defeat. "What's the catch?" He asked blandly, knowing there was something else to this. Percy smiled and looked down, then looking back up to meet his eyes. "My sisters are coming with us." He declared.

Instantly, Estelle cried out and both girls rushed forward to escape their captors' grips. Estelle was unsuccessful, as Urion put pressure on the knife to her neck, but Selena lost control over Arianna.

The girl tumbled forward, and suddenly all eyes were on her. She drew her swords and Selena stepped back a bit. "Ari-" She tried, but was immediately cut off.

"Don't! Shut up! You're working with them! The same people who destroyed camp, who doomed New Rome!" She cried, nearly in tears of rage as she brandished her weapon. No one moved to stop her, so Selena sighed.

"Please. We just want you safe, both of you. They won't hurt you, mom and I will take care of you. You're our family. We want you to come home." She pleaded, and Ari laughed.

"Home?! They took _my_ home from me! How can I trust you?!" She shouted. "Ari-" An adult voice said from behind her, and she whirled around. "Shut up! How could you! You were a hero! We looked up to you!" She was on the verge of sobbing as she looked her older brother in the eye. "Mom and dad would be ashamed of you." She whispered.

That sentence broke the Dark Lord's heart, but he did his best not to show it. "I spoke with her." He told her, and for a second Ari's arm failed and she lowered her blade. "W-what?" She asked with a shaky voice.

Percy swallowed. "I spoke with her, and Paul, by their graves at Montauk. They want you to come with me, both of you. They want you safe." He tried convincing them, and try as she might, Ari could not find a hint of deceit on his face.

The teen backed up a bit, before remembering Selena was behind her and whirling around, expecting an attack. Selena had not moved, however, but was frightened by her friend's scared and aggressive movements.

"Ari!" She heard Estelle shout, and she turned to her adoptive sister. The huntress shook her head. "Don't go with them!" She warned her, and Ari already knew that was her course of action. She would not abandon her friends for a family she never knew. Not like Selena.

"What happened to you Percy? This is not you. The Percy I knew would never turn his back on his friends. He would never actively seek to hurt them. This is not the Percy we loved, that Artemis loved, that the world loved." Annabeth said, her dagger wielded by a shaky hand.

Percy rolled his eyes. "The Percy you knew was a wreck thanks to the small event of being dumped by his soulmate, or who he thought was his soulmate anyway. You know, Artemis and I are getting married after this war. Like a real one with cake and shit. If we're still on such good terms, I'll be sure to invite you all." He joked.

Hazel shook her head. "Percy, I know the gods are bad, that's no secret. But… do all these people deserve to die?" The daughter of Pluto asked.

The former son of Poseidon was silent for a moment, his face darkened at her question. "The gods are tyrants. The demigods are silent. It really seems that I was the only one brave enough to stand up to them, and as we all know: 'If you are neutral in times of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.'"

"We're not letting you take them." Jason said, and Percy suddenly spun around as if only just remembering he was there. "Oh, really?" He asked in fake astonishment. "Larissa." He said slightly, as if an unspoken order.

Surprising everyone in the room, the silent Jackson girl suddenly spun Michael around and grabbed his arm, throwing him over the cliff and into the magma. Or, at least she would have if she didn't grab onto his wrist and keep him there as he was mid-fall.

Jason and Piper shot forward to go help but were blocked by Percy. "Oh, Amazing Graces, we may have a deal. How's this. We'll let you all go, blonde kid included, on the condition that you not only give us the girls, but you also agree to surrender and cease from attacking us any longer." He proposed.

Jason's fists were clenched. Steam was practically pouring out of his ears, but he somehow managed to keep it cool. "Jason." Piper whispered from beside him, and the god looked to his immortal wife. She nodded silently, and he turned back to Percy.

Percy raised two fingers, ready to snap in a moment's notice. "It may be very hard to kill gods, but it is very easy to do so much worse to you." He threatened. In lieu of his words, Jason had decided that he had had enough.

With the swiftness of Hermes and the strength of Ares, he shocked everyone in the room with one move, and punched Perseus in the face.

The deity stumbled back, clutching his nose, and Michael moved into action. Before Larissa could react, he latched his other hand onto her arm and pulled to the left.

The two swung around each other, and as Michael'd hoped, he ended up swinging back to the ledge. Larissa, on the other hand, was thrown towards the magma pit and stumbled against the ledge.

Estelle saw everything going on and took the chance to escape, delivering an aggressive stomp to her nephew's foot. More shocked than anything, Urion let go of her, and the huntress drew her blades.

Urion got over the pain quickly and drew his own, getting in a defensive stance. Estelle had never paid much attention to that half of training, so she had no idea how to break his defense. As such, the girl merely lunged at him swinging wildly.

The son of Perseus was much more skilled than that, and he parried her knives with one hand. With the other, he flipped the knife around and brought his fist back against her face. The butt of the dagger smashed into her cheek, sending a shockwave through the Blofis girl's head.

Surprisingly, she managed to hold her ground, and merely spat out a bit of blood.

Aaron, who was held by the second son Achilles, brought his back quickly against his opponent's face, surely damaging his nose. The strong godling grunted, falling back and clutching his nose in pain. Aaron got his sword out and went for the strike, not caring how much of a dick move that was.

Achilles saw this coming and looked up at him with one eye. With seemingly no effort, he brought his godly axe up from out of nowhere, and Aaron's eyes widened as the gilded blade sliced through his sword.

Calix saw his siblings all lose their hostages and prepared, tightening his grip on Crassus when he tried to escape. "Oh no you don't." He hissed, trapping the son of Dionysus.

The room was in a standoff. Perseus and his children were outnumbered, but they all knew that no one of them could take any of them. The battle would be tough, but just maybe it could be anyone's game.

Larissa growled as she struggled to hold onto the side of the rock, and looked up. Michael still hadn't walked away from the ledge, and the eldest daughter of Perseus smirked. She was sweating due to the heat, and the silver-streaked hair was falling in front of her eyes.

Despite this, she persevered, carefully climbing the wall. Her hands gripped every nook one by one silently, and it seemed no one noticed her ascent. Perseus was still staring Jason dead in the eye, bloody-faced. With one cold armored hand, he wiped the blood away.

"Well, I guess the tables have turned." Jason said, not with arrogance and sureness. Percy's eyes darted around the room, looking for all the ways he could perhaps get an upper hand. One of the demigods was still in the clutch of his son, but one hostage would not be enough to hold off thirteen people all in the same room.

As Larissa's arm finally surfaced over the edge, his eyes widened slightly. Her other arm came up, and she reached down to her pocket. With silence and determination, she drew a small pocket knife, which glinted in the torch and magma light. He smirked towards his old friends. "Have they?"

With true fury and loathing, Larissa drove the knife into Michael's leg, eliciting a cry of pain. They all whirled around to view the commotion, only to see the eldest daughter of Perseus beaching herself on the rock and trying to stand up.

In grief and fear for her son, Piper drew Katatoptris and charged Larissa, who was crawling over to Michael, either to finish the job or take him hostage again. She saw the woman coming and brought up her knife to block.

The small pocket knife didn't do much however, as Katatoptris missed and plunged into Larissa's hand. The room's knees weakened as the sound of bone being destroyed rang out, and Larissa screamed. She yanked her hand away, bringing Katatoptris with it, and Piper was left unarmed.

While Jason's back was turned, Percy took the chance to strike back by transforming his sword into a hammer and swinging. The rectangular rock collided with the centre of Jason's back, eliciting a loud _crack_ and sending the son of Jupiter flying.

The entire room shot into action as the Seven dispersed, going to help their younger companions against the threats. Annabeth threw Piper a spare dagger, and the daughter of Aphrodite caught it competently.

Frank ran to help Aaron fight Achilles, Piper once again ran to her son, Annabeth helped deal with Urion, Leo and Alex went to free Crassus from Calix's grasp, and Hazel joined Ari in helping to talk Selena down.

"Selena, please, don't do this." Ari begged the niece she thought of as a sister. The daughter of Percy Jackson backed up at the two armed individuals approaching her, and brought up her sword defensively. "Back up! Stay the fuck back!" She yelled, startling the two girls.

"Selena, just put down the sword. We can get you out of here, we can take you home." Hazel negotiated, but the girl laughed. The laugh was nervous, Ari realised, she was unsure of what to do with the two of them cornering her.

"Home? What home? Olympus has fallen, Camp Half-Blood is gone, the Hunters are in hiding, and New Rome will fall within the next week, at the most." She told them. Ari shook her head. "No, Selena. I don't wanna sound corny, but home isn't a place. It's where your friends are." She told her.

Selena shook her head. "You're wrong. Nothing's more important than family, home is where your family is, and I'm with mine." She said, nodding her head to her siblings who were currently engaged in fights with the others.

Crassus had broken free of Urion's grip, and he was now fighting three people at once, one of them a god. "Sis! A little help!?" He yelled, catching the attention of Larissa. With quick thinking, she grabbed the crippled demigod and pulled him to his feet, pressing her blade against his neck. "Don't move or he's dead." She threatened to Piper, who cursed.

"Leo!" She yelled, and the god in question turned around. "Shit." He muttered, fiddling around with his pockets looking for something useful. He found something, which resembled a crossbow, except instead of a sharp-tipped bolt it had a rock on the end.

He took quick aim at Larissa and fired, and the girl had to side-step in order to not be thrown into the hot pit. As the younger girl was forced to let go of her hostage, Piper whirled around. "You could have killed him!" She scolded, and the son of Hephaestus shrugged. "Hey, you, go help them. We can hold skinny penis off." He said, talking to Alex. The son of Apollo nodded, running off to aid Michael and Piper.

Urion looked offended by the name, and lunged at Leo with his knives.

Ari frowned at Selena's words. "We're your family too, Selena. We're practically sisters. We were brought up together. How… How could you betray us like this?!" She said, getting angry again, and Selena looked on the verge of breaking down. "That's why you need to come with me. Both of you. Dad will protect you two from the war. You can stay behind with mom, she's neutral. Please, come with us." She said, reaching out a hand.

Hazel looked at Ari, as if waiting for her decision. The girl in question had tears in her eyes as she shook her head, staring at her niece and friend. "I don't even recognize you anymore." She hissed, making Selena back up a bit. "You're not Selena. The Selena I know would never betray her friends, would never side with the enemy. The Selena I know is gone."

Selena was nearly crying and her lower lip trembled. "_Family, Ari._" She whispered. "_We're family._" Ari shook her head, sucking up the tears. Her face was stone cold as she got in a fighting stance. "You're no family of mine."

**I had no idea where to end this chapter. Originally it was gonna be like 8000 words, then I thought I'll split it in half and end it when Percy enters the room, now I'm gonna end it here. Be prepared, people are gonna die in the next chapter. Shits gonna get real. Also, what did you think of that ending? I thought I'd make it emotional just so you guys hate me I guess. I'll probably update No Choice next. Paige_9900 gave me a good idea that can actually get some character development and will help work on Artedite's relationship. Now, I just realised I'm gonna become a senior tomorrow, so I'm gonna go get some McDonald's. Adios.**

**Word Count: 5826**


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32: The First Horseman

**So where did we leave off last time? Oh yeah, Mount Saint Helens, big fight, Selena gets disowned. People are gonna die in this chapter, be warned. **

Chapter 32: The First Horseman

_The blade which cut a thousand throats,_

_Cut a thousand more with one strike._

_Vengeance, Vilification, Victory._

_πέφτει ο πρώτος ιππέας_

Percy stepped into the garden and took a breath, looking around warily with a small smirk on his face. "Ready or not, here I come!" He announced, before stepping further into the fragment of nature.

It was extremely rare for such life to be present in a realm of darkness such as the one he resided, but they had made it work. Nyx thought it would be a good place for the children to play, and for Percy to clear his head. The more he used it, the more he found himself admitting she was right.

Despite the sky above being dark and foggy, the garden was almost yellow. The bushes sprung to life in the breeze, the few trees sat softly among the flora. If only they had birds to give song to the dull atmosphere, but Percy knew that was a bad idea. Monsters got hungry.

He inspected every bush as he passed, checked under all the benches. He looked everywhere in the immediate area he thought one of the rats could be, until he heard a slight rustling from above him.

The man froze with a smirk on his face, and slowly turned his head up. "Found you." He whispered, and the young voice groaned, before a body fell out of the tree onto the ground in front of him.

In the present, a showdown was in effect. A family was torn, as Selena and Arianna stood face to face, one less willing than the other to fight. It was ironic, she had come here to fight alongside her family, and now seriously considered laying down her weapon.

No, it was too late for that. Ari, the girl she thought of as a sister, was prepared to strike her down.

Perseus slashed at Jason, the son of Jupiter wearily blocked his strike. The blade of the villain was cursed, able to shift into any weapon he so desired. He would cut down on the god, before bringing it back up as a mace, then swooping it in as an axe and stabbing it as a spear.

Jason found that his trusty gladius was nothing compared to the magic and evil behind the Blade of Perseus.

Near the pits of magma, Larissa struggled to climb to her feet. The knife was still embedded in her left hand, so she had to use her right to pull herself up. Leaving no mercy for the girl, Michael hobbled over with the strength of only one foot. She saw the glint of his blade, but there was no time for her to block the sword before it was sent right through her knee.

Her shriek sent shivers down the spines of everyone in the room, including one Calix Jackson. "Sis!" He yelled, finding himself more desperate to help her than to defend himself. He looked at his attackers and made a swift charge, catching them off their feet. Frank fell back onto the floor while Alex spun around in confusion.

Calix sprinted over to his sister's assailants and tackled Michael, landing the crippled teen hard on the rocky ground. This distracted Piper enough for Larissa to regain her composure, and she whacked at Piper's knee with the hilt of her blade. With the sudden jolt of pain, Piper fell down, and in a very un-gentleman way, Calix kicked her in the face and almost knocked her out.

Before Michael could get back up, Calix pushed him to the ground and got on top of him. "I got this." He told his twin, before proceeding to beat down on Michael's face to subdue him.

Larissa looked across the room and saw her sister in a standoff with the daughter of Poseidon, and cursed under her breath. Despite her intense injuries, she was going to have to help her, for she knew Selena would rather die than lift a blade against her friend, though it looked like the friend in question did not feel the same way.

There were few things in her life that had been more challenging than that crawl. Putting one hand in front and the other elbow next. Her knee was destroyed, he hand crippled, there really wasn't much the daughter of Perseus could do. But she had to try, didn't she?

She must have looked like a snake, slithering along amongst the chaos. The serpent crawled its way across the room, finally reaching its destination, and it seemed not a moment too soon. As Ari was beginning to take the first strike at Selena, the daughter of Percy and Artemis saw her elder sister on the ground and her eyes widened.

With enough force to tear her tendons out if she so wished, Larissa bit down on the back of Ari's leg, and a scream resonated throughout the room. Though she didn't take any tendons with it, she still took a reasonable chunk of flesh, and Ari almost fell to the ground.

She spat out the flesh and grinned up at the demigod, but that grin faded when Ari whirled around and brought her blade up to strike her down. She fully expected to be cut down finally right then and there, but it seemed that the Fates did not wish for that, as Ari was quickly shoved out of the way.

To both of their surprises, Selena stood over her Larissa, sword in a defensive stance. "Back away from my sister!" She yelled, primed and ready to fight both Hazel and Ari if need be.

Ari hissed as the pain from her leg caught up with her. "This is insane! Why are we fighting? There's no reason for us to get hurt." She said, trying to defuse the situation.

Selena stood tall, her eyes narrowed. "You said it yourself, bitch. _You're no family of mine._"

The girl charged, and Ari's eyes widened as she brought her sword up in defense. Thankfully, she was saved by Hazel, who jumped in front of her and parried Selena's strike. The daughter of Artemis stepped back in surprise at the Hero of Olympus' sudden entrance, but continued to fight nonetheless. The sound of their blades crashing blended in with the rest, and Ari looked around.

It was a bloodbath, neither side was winning. Perseus and his spawn were some of the most capable fighters, but facing off against a god and one or two demigods was tough. Some were seriously injured, like Crassus, who had been the brunt of many attacks by Achilles and Urion, and Larissa, she had perhaps suffered the worst of everyone in the room.

She whirled around, seeing who she could help now that the situation was under control, but yelped when Larissa yanked her leg out from under her, throwing her to the ground. Her skull smashed against the stone, possibly giving her a concussion, and she struggled to open her eyes.

She had dropped her blade in the fall, and it was now laying a mere two metres away. She watched as the serpent struggled to crawl over to it, panting heavily as it placed one elbow after the other in front of her. She knew she had to get up, but her head was throbbing and her body felt like it was asleep.

Larissa's breathing was raggedy, like she had an illness of the lungs, and she finally reached the damned xiphos. Ari watched as she set her hand on the sword, before an ear-splitting shriek rang out as Michael stomped down hard on her hand, the same hand his own mother had impaled not five minutes before.

Larissa thrashed around under his boot, and he raised his foot, allowing her to grab her wrist and hiss in pain. The girl rolled around, her clothes torn and her skin dirty and both were stained heavily with blood. She looked like the victim of a mutilation, which was not far from the truth. Her arm and knee was destroyed, and she suffered several gashes all over her body.

Michael spat out blood from his previous engagement with her twin over the floor, and picked up the blade. All thoughts of mercy were gone, he cared not if this was the eldest child of his own godfather. In the moment they were nothing more than monsters, who brutalized his mother and attacked his friends.

Larissa tried vainly to push him away as he sat on top of her, clawing at his face. Her left hand was very much useless, but her right could still do a bit of damage. And as Murphy's Law states, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and how true that was for Michael.

He lifted his blade to silence her, but Larissa made a desperate clutch at his face. She gripped his hair tight with her fingers like a child fighting on the playground, and in a very un-childlike way, dug her finger into his left eye.

The son of Jason screamed like nothing Ari had ever heard before, and he dropped the blade behind him. Blood started to leak from his eye and drip onto Larissa's face. Seeing her greatest enemy suffer was pleasing to the daughter of Perseus, and she cackled madly at Michael's torturous experience.

Perhaps saving his eye from being completely torn out, Michael fell back. He desperately crawled away clutching at his eye, but Larissa decided she wasn't done. He wanted a fight, he would get a fight.

Despite being far more injured than he was, the son of Jason was stunned, so she was much faster than him at the whole crawling thing. It's hard to properly do so, but she essentially tackled him, landing on top.

Michael was now in the position his enemy had once been in, desperately clutching at her face, trying to find a means of escape. Larissa mustered up all the strength she had in her hands and went to town on his face. She had always been one of those girls who kept her nails relatively long, so she scratched and clawed at his skin like a tiger without teeth.

Michael hissed as flesh was literally torn away from his face like her fingers were knives. One scratched past the severe wound in his eye, resulting in a scream and major thrashing fit. Larissa chuckled quietly as she slowed down, more so in the trauma of the situation than the pain her enemy was in.

Michael took this time to attack, pushing back on her neck and sending her flying off of him. Larissa yelped like a fog that had just been kicked as she rolled over, blood pouring from every wound once more.

Michael rushed over and got on top of her again, taking hold of the blade that belonged to Ari. The girl in question was starting to get up, finally getting over her concussion. Larissa saw the bronze blade and gasped, reaching up to stop him.

Both hands wrapped tight around his wrists as they tried desperately for control. The two godlings wrestled for power, needing to be the victor in that small battle. This was the deciding moment.

Larissa tried so hard to push his hands back up, but the weight of her injuries was finally catching up to her. Her hand was injured, and could barely wrapped around his wrist, let alone hold it up. Blood was pumping to her leg, where several blood vessels had been severed. Many gashes littered her body, all of them leaking and causing her to lose a lot of blood and strength.

With the force of his stab weighing in on her, Larissa couldn't take it anymore. Across the room, Calix finally finished his duel with Piper, only to turn around and be greeted with the opposite outcome he was expecting and hoping for.

Larissa's remaining arm collapsed as the son of Jason drove the blade through her stomach.

"LARISSA!" He cried, sprinting over to his twin. Michael looked up when he heard the rapidly approaching footsteps, only to be kicked aside by the son of Perseus.

Calix fell to his twin sister's side as everyone else in the room noticed the commotion. Most stopped to view what had happened, noticing the two mutilated bodies and the son of Perseus sobbing on his knees.

Larissa's breathing was ragged, and she was barely holding on.

In the center of the room, Percy and Jason were still dueling, but the former heard his son's cries of anguish. He looked aside to see what happened, and his heart sank when he saw the body of his daughter laying on the cold ground.

"No." He whispered to himself, running over to her. He got down on one knee beside her, tears in his eyes. His firstborn was hardly breathing, in a stage between life and death. His little girl had been massacred, and he looked over to the culprit in a rage.

"You!" He roared, dropping his blade and running over to Michael. He picked up the boy by the collar, and paying no heed to his eye injury and with no holding back whatsoever, began to beat down on his face.

Michael grunted with every punch. He was weak, and perhaps would have died if it were not for Jason and Frank coming over and dragging Percy off. The armored man tumbled over onto his hands and knees, looking at them in a fury.

At the sound of his daughter's coughing, his priorities shifted, and he quickly crawled over to be next to her.

Jason picked his son up, almost in tears himself at the wounds he had suffered. His eye still bled, not hardly even an eye. It was more just a red orb that sat where a real eyeball once sat.

Larissa's siblings had gathered round, and knelt down in worry for their sister. Selena and Calix each grabbed one of her hands, and her twin almost fell back in shock at how destroyed her left hand was. Percy knelt down next to her face, cupping it and stroking her bloody cheek.

"It's gonna be okay, you'll be okay princess. Nyx! NYX!" He roared, a sound that could be heard for miles. The demigods in that room backed up in shock as a small storm of blackness manifested next to him, before the very goddess he summoned appeared next to Percy. "Oh no." She whispered, kneeling down next to the girl.

Jason knew if they stayed any longer, more people would die, so he gave the order. "Come on everyone, let's go. We need to head back." He said. They all complied. The injured like Ari were helped by those who came out relatively unscathed, and they hobbled their way down the dark hallway towards the entrance of the forge.

Larissa shivered as blood trickled out of the side of her mouth. "It hurts..." She told him, and Percy nodded. "I know, sweetie. It's gonna be okay. Nyx will fix you, it'll be alright. You can help her, right?" He said, turning to look at the goddess. He needed a yes, oh how he desperately needed a yes.

Nyx bit her lip in thought, but nodded. "With very intensive care she could survive, but she will be scarred for the rest of her life." She told him. Percy nodded frantically. "Yes, yes! Just save her, please Nyx…" He begged, tears leaking out of her eyes.

Nyx nodded, and flashed herself and the girl away, but not before they all said what could be their final goodbyes. "I love you, sis." Calix whispered, and she reciprocated the twin's affection. "Love you too, bro."

Peecy didn't say anything, instead merely kissing her on the forehead as Nyx took her away.

The family sat there in silence, a pool of blood on the rocky floor in front of them. Percy was shaking furiously. "What now?" Urion asked, and Percy looked up at him. "_Get them. Take revenge. _I… I need to take a breath of fresh air._"_

Ari couldn't bear to look towards the battlefield as they exited, afraid of what she may see. It was all quiet, suggesting the worst. The lot of them returned to their jeeps, loading the wounded in quickly before finding other available seats for themselves.

A world away, in the realm of eternal darkness, a black flash spread throughout the room, before Artemis entered. "You're back, what did they-" She was cut off upon seeing the body that Nyx had placed on the bed. Her heart sank, and she rushed over to view it.

It was honestly hard to identify the body at first, as she could only see a mutilated corpse that still breathed ever so slightly. It didn't take long though. Long black hair, a blue shirt, sea-green eyes. She thought for a second that it was her dear daughter Selena, until she saw the familiar silver hair streak of her eldest child.

"Larissa." She whispered in horror as she came to her daughter's side. The girl blinked slowly, turning her head to the sound of her name. "_M~mom?_" She asked shakily while Artemis took hold of her hand, walking up to the bed.

She whimpered at the contact, and Artemis' hand shot back. She saw the blood pooling over the sheets from her hand, and the goddess fought the urge to cry. "Oh, my baby. What did they do to you." She said in distress.

Larissa looked over as Nyx set to work on stabilising her. "The, uh, the demigods. We fought them, and the Se-even. I fought the son of Jason and his mother, and she did this to me." She said, gesturing to her hand. "He did the rest."

Artemis shook her head. She couldn't believe the boy Selena had been raised with had brutalized her daughter like this. "Michael? But… how?"

Larissa laughed, her voice weak. "Like I said, there was a fight, and him and the daughter of Aphrodite teamed up on me. I got her, Calix helped me with him. Then I went to help Selena with Dad's sister, but the guy jumped me. We fought for a bit, and I think I got him."

She laughed, remembering the way she clawd away his face. Her nails were broken, but it was worth it to hear that bastard scream. Her laughs were choked. "I got him pretty good."

Artemis frowned, wondering if the son of Jason and Piper was still alive. She hoped so, despite what he had done to her daughter. "It's okay, you're home now. Nyx will take care of you." She reassured the teen, holding her hand tight.

Ari had faded out of consciousness once she was seated in the jeep, and almost immediately knew she was having a demigod dream. Despite her extreme fatigue, she knew to pay attention, as such a dream during a time like this could make or break the war for their side.

When she could properly decipher her location, she found herself suffering extreme vertigo, and she could see the ground. Only problem was that the ground was many miles down, they were on the brink of space. Almost instantaneously, she knew where she was. The invisible watchtower seemingly towering out of Mount Saint Helens.

"I know you're here." She heard a voice, making her whirl around. She was incredibly shocked to find Perseus, her _brother_, sitting on the cliffside, his legs dangling miles above the ground.

He looked up, not at her but at the skyline ahead. "I can't see you, I don't know where you are, but I know you are here. I know you're listening, watching. I used to have these dreams too, you know." He said, standing up.

Assured that she was safe standing next to this great villain, she stepped closer to him. He was rubbing something in his hands with his thumb, and so she peeked over his shoulder to see what it was. It looked like a horn of a bull or something, long and curved. It was white, but covered in blue markings, of which origin she had no idea. She could not read them, so she assumed they weren't Greek.

Thankfully Perseus answered the unasked question for her. "This is a horn, very old. My dear friend Charlie found it in the junkyard of the gods, down south. It was given to Olympus by the Norse as a gift. A horn with the power to call upon all monsters and bend them to your will." He said, looking out.

Ari's eyes widened. She thought he _did _ have all the monsters under his control already, and the thought of more worried her. "The gods appreciated the thought, but hated the gift. There was little that the gods loathed more than monsters, and did not wish to disgrace their authority by having to recruit the worst of Earth's creations into their army. They'd rather a thousand lives be lost killing monsters than using the monsters to their advantage."

She could not say anything to him, as it was a dream, she could only watch as he walked closer to the cliffside. "I am going to do what the gods were too prideful to do, I'm not afraid to play all my cards. I will burn New Rome to the ground, I will have Jason's son's head on a spike for what he did to my daughter. Besides, what's a Roman love more than conquering?"

He turned his head and looked directly at her, despite allegedly not being able to see her. "I know you understand."

The god raised the horn to his lips, and after a deep inhale, blew on it as hard as he could. The roar could be heard for hundreds of miles, and all throughout the North monsters heard the call of war.

Selena watched out on the horizon, able to see as far into Alaska from this height. It took a while, but she finally saw it. In the middle of Alaska, the land beyond the gods, a light flickered on, one that was so big it could be seen from Washington, USA.

Slowly, more flickered on around the surrounding area, and then the fuse was lit. Like a flame flicking too close to a curtain, all across the Northern border lights were lit, and she knew what they were. Monsters, answering the call to war.

Perseus' army was massive, far too much for the Romans to handle. Their Fates were sealed. Nothing could save them from the hordes.

Ari's eyes snapped open as she struggled to breathe, her heart pounding. She could feel her pulse tight in her neck, and her locks of hair floated around next to her. She soon noticed that she was bleeding, but it felt strange to her. The blood was travelling up her cheek.

The world outside the jeep became clear to Ari, and she noticed that it was a bit different. The upside-down kind of different. Panic immediately set it, and her head darted back and forth between each window.

She could hear commotion coming from outside, and set to work trying to get her seatbelt off. The teen cursed as she found that it was stuck, but being a demigod did have its perks. She drew her xiphos and quickly cut the strap, but instantly regretted it as she fell to the ground.

Unfortunately, this was one of those jeeps with windows, so upon impact Ari was sliced all over by broken glass shards. She cursed and writhed from the pain, but upon taking more damage by doing that, quickly learned to stay still.

She looked out the window and could see feet running past not too far ahead, and so took the incentive to crawl out of the wrecked car. She had no recollection of what had happened, but the daughter of Poseidon had a _real_ good idea.

Once her knees hit dirt, she stood up, and stumbled away.

Jason ran as fast as his legs could take him while footsteps crunched all around him. He had to get the demigods to safety, including his own son. The boy was severely wounded from his fight with the daughter of Perseus, and both Frank and Aaron were having to support him out of there.

Estelle ran past him, and as he looked his eyes widened as a large black dog came into view, wolf-sized and biting at the huntress' heels. The god cursed and turned in an arc, coming up alongside the dog.

The second it noticed him, it strafed to the side to try and knock him over, but Jason was smarter than that. He placed one hand on its head and pushed down, disorienting the dog who eventually tripped and fell behind.

Aaron and Frank brought Michael further into the clearing, but were interrupted by an arrow piercing Frank's shoulder. He cursed and fell. "Go! Take him!" He yelled to Aaron, who nodded frantically.

The rest of the Seven and demigods entered the clearing, but soon found that they had been cornered. The sons of Perseus, Achilles and Calix, flanked from either side, while Selena came up the front with the wolf. Alex thought for a second that they could reason with her, but that thought vanished the second he saw her face.

She was fuming, Riptide gripped tight in her hand. Blood was smeared over her face from the previous fight.

Michael panted from his spot leaning on Aaron's shoulder. "Leave me." He said, feeling like he was weighing them down. Piper looked back horrified, and Aaron shook his head. "Hell no man, we're getting you out of here." He promised.

Michael smiled, his face torn and bloody. Skin was missing from his cheeks and forehead, and he had a small gash over his cheekbone. "You're a good friend, man." He muttered, and Aaron smiled.

As the group backed up, Aaron turned to run up the hill behind him with their hostage, only to receive an arrow to the throat.

As the two fell to the ground and rolled down the hill, the rest of them turned around to see what happened. "NO!" Estelle screamed, seeing her friend roll down the hill bleeding severely from the throat. She ran over to help her friends, but was stopped by an arrow landing on the ground in front of her.

Down from the setting sun came Urion, the youngest son, wielding his golden bow and aiming at Estelle threateningly. She backed up, looking conflicted between the arrowhead and her dying friend.

The rest of them were forced to back up into a circle by the approaching attackers, coming back to back and looking all around for a means of escape. Urion put his bow away and pulled out a knife, coming closer to Michael.

Piper saw this and cried out in horror, attempting to charge him. She was held back by both Annabeth and Hazel, knowing that any wrong moves could result in their deaths. Jason was forced to watch on in horror as the archer got down on one knee and grabbed his son by the collar.

He looked up at the group who watched on in horror, then at his siblings. Calix and Achilles both gave him a nod, and Estelle looked to see what Selena's reaction was. She gave no support, but offered no attempt to stop the teen from killing her former friend. That look she gave Michael broke Estelle's heart.

Urion brought the knife to the decimated son of Jason's body. "_This… is for my sister_."

Michael's hand swung up to Urion's gut, and in his hand was Aaron's spare knife, which went right through into the son of Perseus' intestines.

Selena saw it first, and reacted immediately. With an ear-piercing shriek, she cried out her brother's name. The boy in question fell over, clutching his bleeding stomach. Calix and Achilles prepared to slaughter all of them, but were stopped when Calix took a stone to the head from behind.

They whirled around, expecting an army, but instead only saw a wounded Ari. Her crippled form stumbled over, bleeding from the side of the head and with a furious expression on her face. "_YOU!_" She hissed, heading straight for Selena.

The girl's eyes widened, but she easily side stepped Ari. The daughter of Poseidon came around for another punch, but it was caught by Selena. "You _fucking traitor!"_ She hissed, throwing her back.

Selena stood there for a moment, staring at her former sister with shock, panting heavily. They kept eye contact for half a minute, before Selena made the decision. "Leave."

Calix laughed in shock and disbelief. "What? You're just gonna let the-" He doubted her, but Selena was having none of it. "_Leave!_ I'm not gonna stand here and watch everyone I love die. Go!" She said, and her orders were not questioned by the demigods.

Both the demigods and the Seven hightailed it out of that clearing, supporting Ari and Michael as they went. Soon it was just the four of them left, and they rushed over to Urion.

"Shit, _DAD!"_ Achilles yelled, and their call was heard and responded with a flash. Percy stood there, looking around in confusion. When he noticed his youngest son on the ground, he choked. "Uri?" He whispered, falling to his knees.

Urion was pushed over onto his back so that he may look upon his father and brothers. Selena mind-messaged her mother, who arrived in seconds at the sound of distress in her daughter's head.

"Urion!" Artemis cried, coming to kneel next to Calix on the opposite side of Urion.

Percy was crying, something his children rarely saw until that day. He placed pressure on the wound desperately, trying to find a way to save him. "It's okay, Uri. We'll fix you. Everything'll be alright, we'll take you home just like 'Rissy. It's gonna be fine." He mumbled, more to calm himself than his son.

"_Wha~" _His voice was faded, he could barely speak. "What am I… gonna tell Saph?" He asked, his eyes becoming dimmer.

Calix held his brother's head, trying to calm him. "No. Don't speak like that, Uri. You'll be okay. Please, be okay."

Urion looked up at him, then at his mother. "Mom." He said simply, looking at Artemis who silently cried. Tears flowed down her cheeks and she smiled at her son. "I love you, my son. I love you so much." She told him.

Urion smiled, closing his eyes. His father held him tight as the rest of his family crowded around him, Selena standing behind them all trying to muffle her sobs. She could hardly stand to look upon her baby brother.

"_Saph…_" Urion whispered, and not long after his breath halted, and his soul passed on into the afterlife.

The family cried together that day, as the youngest son died in his father's arms. Percy swore to take revenge on all of them, he would make sure they paid. But now, now was only time for weeping.

**I told ya'll people would die. Did I throw any of you for a loop at the Larissa and Michael parts? I'm sorry for killing off both Aaron **_**and**_ **Urion in one chapter, but it just shows you I'm not one to be trusted. They are only the first in a list of characters that shall die in this story. Goodbye, au revoir. It is 3am and I am sitting in a hospital waiting room while my girlfriend gets her fucked up ankle checked and I wanna watch South Park with my sister on the laptop. Ba-bye.**

**Word Count: 5331**


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33: A Time of Grief

**Sorry I left you guys for two weeks, Red Dead 2 is really consuming my life. Not that I can play it right now, considering I'm in hospital. I didn't put this notice out on , so I'll quickly explain. Basically, on the 13th of July, my dad gave me Abilify, and long story short, I ended up mixing a bunch of prescription meds out of anger and overdosing. I almost died, but thankfully my sister found me almost immediately, so as far as I know I'm okay now. I also posted a Wattpad exclusive oneshot over there under No Choice, because frankly I had nowhere else to put it, it's called The Graveyard Shift.**

Chapter 33: A Time of Grief, and A Time of Vengeance

They brought the news to Larissa perhaps half an hour later, when she was barely awake still. Nyx had stabilized her and was in the process of fixing her last wound when Artemis walked in with red eyes. Sapphire was sitting next to Larissa, and she looked just as confused as her older sister.

Artemis gestured for Nyx to finish up bandaging her hand, which had a gaping hole in the middle of it that burned like Hades. When the primordial finished, Larissa could hardly move thanks to the random bandages littering her scarring body.

Artemis pulled a chair over and sat down in front of Larissa's bed, and the girl in question pulled her younger sister up to sit by her. Artemis sighed, wiping her eyes, which worried the teen. "Where's the others?" Larissa asked before she could say anything, fearing the worst.

Artemis nodded, and when she spoke he voice came out raspy and choked. Larissa had never heard her mother sound like that, nor did she expect the headstrong goddess of the hunt _could _sound like that. "They're fine, but… Urio-" She was cut off by Sapphire.

"Uri?! Where is he?" She said, remembering her favorite brother and looking around. Artemis turned to her and couldn't help the tears that began to flood from her eyes. Of course Sapphire had to say that, she had to make it so much harder to deliver the truth.

Larissa saw her cry, and her face fell. "Mom…?" She trailed off, silently asking a question. Artemis couldn't bring herself to look at her, and instead wiped the tears away so she could see Sapphire.

"Sweetie, Urion… he's not coming home." She choked. "He didn't- he didn't make it. I'm sorry." She whispered, before breaking down and sobbing. The three were left sitting there and looking at Artemis in shock. Nyx had a very solemn look on her face as she looked away, and soon after she excused herself and left the room.

Larissa felt the tears leaking from her own eyes, yet she couldn't bring herself to fully break down. Uri, her little brother, was gone… and she didn't even get to say goodbye…

"No. NO! You're lying!" Sapphire yelled, standing up. Artemis turned her head up to her in sorrow, the skin around her eyes red and raw with tears and how much the goddess had stubbornly tried to wipe them away. "Sapph-"

"NO! URI WOULDN'T LEAVE! He wouldn't leave me…" Sapphire still shook her head, in denial about it all. She refused to accept that. He wasn't gone… just… hiding…

With tears in her eyes she ran out the door, barging past her mother, who had stood up to come and hug her or something along those lines. The woman watched as she left the room and wiped more tears away, not that it was really doing much at this point.

"Mom?" She heard from her left, and she turned back to the bed. Larissa was sitting up, knees pulled close to her chest. She was shaking, which was either due to the shock or the fact that her legs were almost destroyed by Michael's blade and having moved them to her chest probably upsetted some nerves. "I-is it true?"

Artemis nodded, sitting down on the bed next to her. "He tried to avenge you, but the son of Jason caught him off guard…" She said, before trailing off as she realised the implications of what she'd just said.

Larissa was wide-eyed, shaking. Uri was dead. He died trying to kill the man who hurt her. He would still be alive if only she was more competent. If she hadn't suffered the final wound, Uri wouldn't have gotten himself killed. The trail led back to her, it was _her fault_.

_It was all her fault._

_Her baby brother was dead and it was all her fault._

"We weren't supposed to die…" She whispered, shivering on the bed. Artemis hugged her eldest child and the girl's barriers broke down as she cried into her mother's shoulder.

"We weren't supposed to die…"

In Camp Jupiter, Reyna sat at her table with her head laying on the desk. She was exhausted, her hair was loose for once, and she clearly hadn't slept at all that night. It was all too stressing. She was the sole praetor of a Camp in a time of war. The one protecting a city of innocents. Now that the gods were hiding away, you could even say she was acting regent of Olympus.

No word had come from the Washington party since Jason sent the message nearly a day before saying that they had made it. And he was supposed to I'M her at least once every two hours…

She could only assume the worst, and she had to accept that. There was nothing they could do for them now. She just had to hope they'd make their way back in once piece. A shame they took her co-praetor with them, she'd had to promote plenty of people to make up for the lost leadership.

She menatally facepalmed as she remembered once again that she'd sent the _only gods_ willing to fight for them off on this suicide mission.

They were screwed.

After plenty of comforting her daughter, Artemis heard a familiar voice, one she hadn't heard in a long time. _Milady!?_

Her head perked up and she looked around, thinking Thalia had somehow appeared in the room. To her dismay, it was empty aside from them, and she knew she was likely hearing voices. Faint memories of old times.

_Milady?! Please answer, where are you?_ There it was again, that voice. She disconnected from Larissa, but the shaking girl didn't seem to notice. The goddess stood up and went to stand in the middle of the room. She was freezing, having decided to wear only an ancient Greek dress and a waistband to hold it in place, but she didn't pay it any mind, instead trying to discover the source of the noise.

_Thalia?_ She asked, not out loud though, because that would confuse the shit out of Larissa. She honestly didn't expect an answer, still adamant that it was her mind playing tricks on her. Of course, instead she received a very rushed and alarming answer. _Milady! There you are! Where are you!? _Her lieutenant asked hurriedly, but the goddess was still very confused.

_Uh, still with my family. Why? Where are you?_ She asked, before realising that that was a stupid question as she could always flash directly to her hunt without even knowing their location. The Hunt _was_ a location. So she did just that, leaving her sobbing daughter all alone in the dark and cold room of the equally dark and cold room of the palace.

Thalia jumped when she saw the flash coming from behind her, and almost whirled around before she realised that looking at a flash was a _really_ bad idea. She waited for it to die down before turning around and engulfing Artemis in a hug. Artemis was shocked by the sudden affection, and hurriedly pushed the girl off when her hug became so tight and heavy that she started pulling down her chiton from the clips atop her shoulders. She did _not_ feel like revealing herself to the entire hunt.

Thalia stepped back and looked over the goddess and her commanding officer in the hunt. She looked much different to the last time she'd seen her, which was the day of the attack on Camp Half-Blood. After the attack, Artemis and Selena had gone missing, before the goddess herself IM'd Thalia a few days later telling her to stand the hunt down and camp in a safe place. The whole story she'd proceeded to tell the hunt shocked them all, especially the part where she revealed she had five more children she didn't even know about.

Artemis had her hair let down, which was a far cry from the usual bun or ponytail that she liked to rock. She was wearing a chiton, which was new. Usually she wore the normal outfit for her hunters or just some casual clothes like jeans and a hoodie, but now she had gone all Hellenic on them. She wasn't wearing any sandals either, instead being barefoot, which indicated that she had just flashed there without preparing. Thalia also noticed something else that confused her. "What is that?" She asked.

Artemis looked down at her left arm and held it up. It was littered with black pictures, some doodles and some really good artistic designs. Her tattoo was organized into six decently sized rings which just managed to fit on her forearm. "Hm? Oh, I got a tattoo. Or rather, I let my kids draw on me and then Achilles, my second son, tattooed it on." She said.

The goddess then walked up and held out her arm, pointing to each one. They went in order of birth, so the first one was Larissa's. It featured a very well drawn pair of antlers on the outside of her arm with a flower wrapped around it, which she figured was a rose. On the inside of her arm was Larissa's name in some fancy font. Artemis was not an expert on fonts so she did not know the name.

Next was Calix, and it was only a black pegasus with a spear going through the middle horizontally, not in a way that might suggest the horse had been violently stabbed but more like the spear ran alongside the pegasus. It was hard to tell in 2D. Calix's font was a more bold standard lettering.

Selena's was nice. It consisted of several small drawings of particular memories from the girl's childhood, like the murals on Olympus detailing certain heroes' achievements. She liked the one especially that was a small doodle of a girl sitting on the floor crying while an overexaggerated snake stood next to her menacingly, yet on the other side of the girl you could see a woman aiming her bow and arrow at the creature. An exaggerated portrayal of the time Selena was bitten by a snake in the desert. Her name was in cursive.

Achilles was a bit more brash, he clearly didn't do much art. He had a small knight figure fighting a giant wolf, an axe dug into the head of someone who looked suspiciously like Orion, and a cartoonish love heart that had the word MOM in the middle. How cute. His name was in comic sans because why not.

Artemis choked up as she pointed at Urion's, which didn't go unnoticed by Thalia. His was a snake wrapped around her wrist with a bow and arrow on it. She shook slightly as she stared at the name, written in cursive. _Urion_.

Finally Sapphire's was wholesome and cute. She was 9 and wasn't the best drawer, so it all looked like doodles. There was a brontosaurus on one side and a T-rex on the other, and in the middle was a small doodle of their family, one man, one woman, three girls and three boys all holding hands and smiling. Her name was written in simple text.

She smiled as she remembered the time she'd gotten the tattoo. She had been sitting at a table in the garden as Sapphire played with bugs and such. Eventually the girl had gotten bored and found some markers, coming back to Artemis and gleefully asking if she could draw on her. The goddess smiled and agreed, and after five minutes the goddess had whiskers on her face, a crudely drawn dragon on her shoulder and a drawing of her family plus two dinosaurs on her arm.

Selena and Larissa came out and saw what was happening and decided to join in, drawing their own little things all over their mother's body. They very clearly had some talent, so it was better than Sapphire's little doodles, but she had to admit there was a charm to Saph's doodles of a bunch of stick figures holding hands that she admitted was their family.

She got Calix, Achilles and Urion to put their own little things on, and after looking at it for a while decided she liked the rings on her left arm, so she decided to get it tattooed on. She had each of her kids sign her wrist under their drawings and then Achilles made it permanent with a tattoo needle. She didn't ask why he had one.

Of course she got the rest of the drawings like the whiskers washed off.

Artemis looked around once she had finished catching up with Thalia. "What's happening?" She asked, noticing that most of the tents were packed up and all the hunters were active. This also wasn't the place they had told her they were camping.

Thalia looked down and sighed, crossing her arms. "We're moving to Camp Jupiter." She admitted, shocking the goddess. "Wh-what?" She asked, before seeing Phoebe and Atalanta walk over. "Why?"

"We don't wanna sit here and watch as everyone gets killed! If the monsters win, that's a terrible outcome, no matter what way you put it. I'm sorry milady, we're sorry, we know it's your family and all, but we're siding with the demigods." Atalanta said truthfully.

Artemis was at a loss for words. Her hunters were disobeying her yet she couldn't really fault them. Her husband was the bad guy in this war, but she couldn't go against him…

Though she had seen the power Percy had at his command, and she knew if her hunters stayed at Camp Jupiter many would die, perhaps all of them if they chose to not surrender. She couldn't let that happen…

But she had a family, for the first time she truly had a family. Percy had left before they could really become one, and Selena and her couldn't truly be a family without Percy. Now she not only had both Percy and Selena, but five other wonderful children to go with it.

_Four other wonderful children._

But the hunters were her family before Percy and Selena, when she and Apollo became gods and had to leave their mother behind, she was without a family, a home, and so were her early hunters. She gave them one, and in return they gave her a family. She couldn't sit back and let them die at her husband's hand.

She turned around and stared at the dirt in front of her. Most of the hunt had gathered around now, glad to see their mistress, but all froze at seeing the state she was in. The goddess was shaking, and many of them likely took that as meaning she was angry. Thalia, Phoebe and Atalanta held their ground though, they knew they were doing the right thing, and if it weren't for her family their lady would join them.

Artemis wasn't angry, she was a mixture of things, but not angry. She was confused, conflicted, sad, anxious, dreading the near future. She could have sat back, she could have turned a blind eye and tried to forget about all her husband and children would do, say she never took part in it, but could she sit back and watch her other true family get murdered by her new one? Or even worse, have them both get themselves killed? Then she would be alone, left alone with the guilt of getting both her families killed. You never know, Urion was killed by a mere demigod, all it would take would be a few silver arrows to burst through her children's skulls and Percy's responding rage and it would all be gone. She would be alone.

She walked away, and Thalia saddened as she realised her mistress would not be joining them. She would be going away and hiding back in her castle with her daughter while the rest of them fought and died on the battlefield.

Suddenly the goddess turned her head, and held up her left arm. "My youngest son, Urion, was killed only hours ago by the son of Jason. A godling, killed by a demigod. My son, _gone_. I only got to know him for two weeks, but his death hurt as much as Zoe's. I can't bear to see my family destroyed by this war." She said quietly, before flashing out.

The hunters were left to dwell on their thoughts.

**Sorry for the short chapter, it was originally gonna be about 6000 words but it's been 14 days so I decided you guys had waited long enough and I'm posting what I've got. Update on my earlier A/N. I'm fine now, doctors let me go home, bit Covid might spread through my whole town now cause the priest got it, I might have a new disorder after having a panic attack in hospital that I've never had before. Fun fact: in Oregon the maximum penalty for incest is 5 years in a state prison and up to a $100,000 fine. Again, go check out the oneshot I posted on Wattpad, I posted it under my No Choice story there. What do you guys wanna see updated next? Thinking No Choice, Godlings, Taste or Pure Evil?**

**Word Count: 3015**


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34: A Time of Vengeance

**So here's the other half of last chapter that I decided to make two different chapters cause you guys deserved an update. **

Chapter 34: A Time of Vengeance

Into the cold room Artemis stepped, her bare feet touching the smooth stone floor and sending a sharp freezing feeling up her spine. She always hated the throne room, it may have been a place of power for Percy but to her it only served as a cruel reminder that her husband had changed. He wasn't as easy-going and fun as he once was, this stupid war he started had changed him. Now when he wasn't with his family he was cold and calculating, having taught himself a lot over the years and lost a lot of the cute idiocy he once possessed.

The god sat on his dark throne, high on raised steps. She had entered from the back entrance, so he was facing away from her. She walked forward, coming around to the side of the throne. "Percy?" She whispered, her voice carrying throughout the large chamber.

Her husband turned his head to her, still resting on his left fist. His eyes softened when he saw her, and he sat up straight. "Arty." He greeted quietly, she barely heard him through the sound of the torches on the wall crackling. The goddess made her way around the throne and up the steps, coming to stand one step below him and staring up at her husband.

He smiled down at her. "Twenty years ago, you would not have dreamed of marrying me, now look where we are." He said sadly, staring at the ground by her feet. Artemis frowned and approached him, coming to straddle her husband on top of his throne. She kissed him softly for a few seconds, receiving a deep and meaningful one not long after in return. "I love you, you know that right?" She asked.

Percy smiled and nodded, kissing her quickly on the nose. The goddess couldn't suppress her smile. "Where's Calix and Achilles?" She inquired, which made Percy's mood drop. "They're getting him ready. I think they wanted some time alone with him." He told her. Artemis looked down in grief and let loose a few tears. She did not sob, she did not wail, she had done that already, now she could only cry.

Percy looked up at her and wiped the tears away. "It's okay, Moonbeam. It's okay, you can cry." He whispered, pulling the goddess in for a hug. Artemis buried her head into Percy's shoulder.

"Why? Why did he have to die?" She sobbed. "My youngest son, I only knew he existed for a few weeks, I- I can't b-believe he's gone…" The goddess cried. Percy closed his eyes and rubbed her back softly. He shed a few tears of his own, still in slight shock and disbelief from losing his youngest son, the boy he raised from infancy for fifteen years. How those fifteen years had flown by.

They held the funeral an hour later. Achilles and Calix had built a nice pyre for their younger brother using sticks from the gardens. Sure, it was a shoddy-looking pyre, but the gardens had always been Urion's favorite place in the fortress, so they felt he would like it.

The Jackson family watched as the body of their second-youngest member burned in front of them, a golden drachma in his hand. He was a godling, so he hadn't achieved immortality and thus was headed for the Underworld.

Percy held Artemis and Selena as they cried, trying to hold himself together as the patriarch of their small family. Larissa sat on a rock, unable to walk due to her injured legs, cradling a heartbroken Sapphire in her arms as Calix stood next to her looking solemnly on the flames. Eris had her arm wrapped around her boyfriend's neck as Achilles leaned his head to rest on top of hers.

All of them had their time before the burning to say one last goodbye and be with the body. Percy was the last to go, and he simply brushed a strand of hair out of his son's eyes and said goodbye.

The nine of them walked back inside after it was done in silence, unable to find words appropriate to say. Percy turned around as Nyx shut the doors behind Eris and Achilles but he simply stood in silence, his mouth open as if he was going to say something. Fenrir obediently sat to the side of Larissa, who was on her knees beside Calix.

He sighed as he realised he couldn't find the words to say anything. Percy walked over to his wife and held out his hand. Inside a clenched fist was a golden necklace with an emerald in the middle. He clipped it around Artemis' neck and kissed her deeply. "I love you, Moonbeam." He told his love, and she smiled as she looked down at the gem, then back up at him. "I love you too, Seaweed Brain."

Percy flashed out, leaving them all in silence.

Arianna scratched Achilles' neck absentmindedly as their SUV drove down the highway towards New Rome, or at least the entranceway to the New Rome Region. Not Achilles the son of Perseus, Achilles the former pet dog of Perses, who the god in question named his second son after. Leo had found him at a gas station near Oakland, and from his telling of events the reunion was quite funny.

_They had stopped in a gas station off the highway in north Cali when Leo decided he needed to take a piss. He walked inside and headed straight for the men's room, but the clerk saw and stopped him. "Hey, man. Toilet's busted, sorry." He apologized, making Leo sigh as he realised he'd have to take his business elsewhere._

_So of course that meant he was pissing in a bush on the other side of the gas station from the SUVs. So he's maybe five seconds into his business when he hears this rustling noise from his left. He turned his head and saw a dog peeking its head out from the bush. He jumped back in fright a bit, but quickly realised that it was a normal dog._

"_Leo!" He heard Annabeth call from behind him, making him turn. In doing so, his stream redirected onto the poor dog, who yelped and jumped out of the bush. A few of the demigods heard the yelp and ran to investigate. As soon as they spotted the dog, both Estelle and Ari recognized it and ran to greet the much-loved pet of Selena, who inherited the dog from her father._

Of course they brought Achilles with them and were now on the road back to New Rome. Few words had been spoken since they left the state of Washington, still reeling from the sudden and unexpected death of Aaron. Ari was not particularly close to the son of Ares, but his death hit her like a brick. It was bad enough losing Chiron, and all the demigods she hardly knew at Camp, but to lose an actual friend?

And Selena stood to the side, unflinching as Urion sent the arrow through their friend's neck. She likely thought it justice, and Ari wondered if the older sister Larissa had succumbed to her wounds. Perhaps that was why the children of Perseus were so bloodthirsty, it was an eye-for-an-eye.

After many hours of travelling, she heard Jason sigh from the driver's seat as the convoy turned onto the road leading to the entrance of New Rome, or rather the forest that was a couple miles from New Rome but either way they would soon be safe. Seeing that they could not take the rides further into the trees, he parked the head car on the side of the road and placed his head on the wheel in frustration. "Alright, let's go. It won't be too far." He said, taking tight hold of his coin and getting out of the car. Ari and Piper helped Michael out while Estelle brought up the rear with her bow at the ready.

They met the group from the other van and told them the go, and together the entire group set off into the trees, Jason in front and Achilles lingering behind sniffing grass patches as he went. It took them five minutes to reach the famous tunnel, one which was all too familiar to most of the Seven.

"Hold it right there." A voice sounded from behind them, and the entire group whirled around. The Seven protectively stood in front of the demigods as they saw none other than Percy standing there, holding his sword threateningly.

As Achilles walked past, Percy raised an eyebrow and loosened his stance momentarily. "Achilles?" He asked in confusion, and the dog turned and barked at him happily. He expected the dog to jump up at him, but instead the full-grown hound ran to Ari and Estelle and sat between them.

Percy's face had softened when he saw his old friend, but upon seeing his other old friends once more, those who had assisted in the murder and mutilation of his children, he glared. "_You_ are not going anywhere." He held up his blade threateningly.

Hazel turned and nudged Ari with her elbow gently. "Go." She said. The demigods turned to look at her. "What?!" She asked, and Annabeth turned back to her. "She's right, you all need to go. It won't be too far to Camp. You're wounded, you need to get back, especially Michael." She said, looking at the son of Jason.

The heavily wounded blonde was outraged. "What?! We're not gonna leave you! Not now! Not at the front doorstep of New Rome!" She said, gesturing to the tunnel. Piper took another look at Percy and turned to her son. "Go, Michael, you need to go. I love you." She said, hugging him tight.

Michael winced at the pain, but didn't complain. "Mom-" He was cut off by his father, who was still staring his old friend intently in the eyes. "Do as she says, Michael. Go! Go and don't look back!" He said, turning his head to look at his son.

Michael had tears in his eyes, but he had no choice as both Crassus and Alex began pulling him back towards the tunnel entrance. He yelled and flailed despite the pain in his body, but it was no use. The demigods entered the tunnel and looked back for the last time as the entrance was sealed up by rock. The gods outside saw the earth shift over the hole and looked back at Percy. He was holding his hand up like he was showing them the back of his hand, smiling. "You know, I don't think I use this power enough. Poor Gaea died in vain." He said, before bringing his hand back down swiftly.

The ground under them shook and shifted, with a loud crack it rose underneath them causing all six of the seven to go flying in the air a short distance. They flew in different directions, and Percy moved his hand again. Earthen tendrils not unlike the ones present at Olympus rose from the ground and latched onto their arms and held them to the ground.

Percy walked forward, blade in hand. "You took my son from me, you all did. Your son struck him down, Grace. Have no doubt that I or mine will do the same to him." He hissed, kicking Jason in the gut. He walked over to Piper. "You scarred my daughter, stole her beauty, left her hardly breathing. I will deliver the same punishment upon your son. He will die in pain, just as you have left me and my family in such grief." He promised.

Piper thrashed around amongst the rock. "DON'T YOU TOUCH A HAIR ON HIS HEAD, JACKSON. I SWEAR TO ZEUS I'LL-" The daughter of Aphrodite was cut off by Percy placing his boot on his mouth. "I'm going to kill him, Piper. If not me then my sons and daughters. He will die." The Dark Lord vowed to her.

Seething with rage, Jason began thrashing too, trying to escape. The rest of the Seven all looked at each other wondering what to do, and Annabeth looked at Frank. She nodded at him, gesturing that it was up to the Son of Mars to do something. He remembered his major power that often got them out of tough situations and decided to utilize it, changing form silently.

The blue serpent was easily released by the earthen tendrils and it slithered over to Percy. The god didn't hear the small hissing from behind him as he looked down upon the furious Jason and Piper, but he sure as Hades felt the sting in his leg. Frank had intentionally picked the most venomous spider he knew, so Percy _definitely_ felt that.

He cursed as he lifted up his leg, seeing the small snake on the ground, and tried stomping it. The serpent transformed back into a human and grabbed his foot, making Percy's eyes widened. Frank's eyes narrowed him as he pushed up, sending Percy tumbling back. He landed flat on his ass, and the sudden shock caused the earth wrapped around the other gods to crumble.

They all shot into action, grabbing their weapons and standing to meet him. Percy pulled himself to his feet and stepped back, searching for ways of escape. His eyes set on every one of them looking for a plan. Jason, Piper, Frank, Leo, Hazel, and Annabeth. Annabeth, perfect. "You would all stand with a traitor?" He asked in astonishment.

The Seven all looked at each other in confusion while one of them in particular paled. "What the Hades are you talking about?" Frank asked, looking him dead in the eye. Percy smirked as he realised she had never told them. "You don't know? Oh, even worse. She lied to you for years!" He laughed.

His face suddenly hardened. "I'm surprised it was never brought up after the war, did my death distract you all that much? You never thought to question who the spy was that Erebus was known to be in contact with?" He raised the question.

The faces of the Seven fell as they realised what he was talking about. "Y-you mean one of us was the spy?" Piper asked, and Percy smirked. He raised his sword, pointing it at someone in particular. "Why don't you ask old Annie, here?"

The gods gasped and turned to their friend, who stood on shaky knees with tears in her eyes. As she looked at her friends she tried her best to not break down. "Annabeth, is that true?" Hazel asked in shock. The daughter of Athena's bottom lip quivered and she stuttered. "I-I…."

"Oh yeah, Nyx told me all about it. How you were mad about my becoming an Olympian after you cheated on me, and in a fit of rage and jealousy you prayed to him and struck a deal. I applaud you for managing to hide it for so long." He grinned, clapping his hands.

As Annabeth looked around for support, she found that the rest of the Seven were either staring at the ground or looking at each other. For once Leo didn't have anything to say, and he avoided eye contact with her completely. Percy stood there waiting for a reaction, for them to crucify her, and so what happened next shocked him completely.

"What does it matter?" Jason said, looking up. "She made a mistake years ago, and she sides with us now. As far as I'm concerned, she's forgiven. Especially in comparison to you, who destroyed your own home and killed your own friends, nearly killing my son in the process." He declared.

"AND YOU KILLED MINE!" Percy suddenly shouted, startling the Seven. He panted heavily. "You and your godling killed my son, and be sure I'll make him suffer for it. You're right, I've killed many former friends. What's six more to the list?"

Piper, Leo and Hazel stood protectively next to Annabeth while Jason and Frank got ready for a fight. "Then six more it'll be." The son of Jupiter told his old friend, before charging at him with his blade in hand.

Percy deflected Jason's blade with ease, but cursed as he saw the other five all charge at once. He was forced to use his powers over time to be able to repel all of their attacks, chaining it and using his earth powers to cause a shockwave with the final block that sent them flying back.

Leo was first to get back on his feet and he combusted his hands. The son of Hephaestus charged Percy down, striking with both arms and aiming at the man's head. Percy had to back up with every strike, not able to get any hits or really even deflect it. He saw that Leo was in a boxing position, fists on the same level as his shoulders, which left the rest of his body open. He slowed down time and delivered a swift kick to the stomach that stunned Leo.

Annabeth was the next to challenge him, and swiped at his chest with her dagger. The blade merely left the mark, and as Percy saw that they could indeed damage him with their numbers, he decided to cull the herd. She slashed at his face this time, but Percy caught her arm. With a swift squeeze he heard a bone in her hand crack, and she dropped the knife. With his power over time, he let go of her hand and caught the knife, before plunging it into her gut.

When he resumed time, he backed up and let Annabeth fall to the ground, making the Seven gasp. Piper ran over and slid to her knees next to her, frantically looking over her wound. Blood trickled out of the corner of Annabeth's mouth as Piper cried. "Annie, no…"

The rest of the Seven came to her side as she looked at them all. "_I…. I'm sorry..._" She choked out, and not even five seconds later she stopped shaking, stopped moving entirely.

Out of rage, Frank picked up his weapon and ran at Percy, but he hadn't even the time to regret his decision as Percy's sword morphed into a hammer and he swung it at the Canadian, hitting him in the side of the neck and sending him flying into a tree.

Jason grabbed Hazel by the arm to try and stop her from retaliating, but it was no use. The daughter of Pluto broke free and took a swing at Percy, who parried it and took hold of her neck. "NO!" Leo yelled, going to save her before being slammed in the side of the head by Percy's hammer. With his other hand he applied a great amount of pressure to Hazel's neck, snapping it. To prevent her from reforming he took his cursed blade and cut her throat.

Piper and Jason were left on the ground, too weak and too tired to even bother fighting anymore. The latter still held his blade tight in his hand, shaking profusely. Percy trudged over slowly, wiping Hazel's blood off his mouth. "Just look at it this way, Grace. I hear the Void is a paradise free of all evil. A perfect place for you two to spend eternity. Too bad your son is a godling, he'll be stuck in the boring old Underworld with mine." He mocked.

When the god was close enough, Jason swung up with his blade, leaving a cut on Percy's left cheek. He hissed, feeling the ichor slowly drip, before turning back to the weakened son of Jupiter. WIth seemingly no effort he kicked the gladius out of Jason's hand, and it transformed back into a coin on the dirt.

Piper could only sit there and cry as Percy impaled Jason with his sword, watching as the cursed blade sunk into the heart of her husband, all the while she looked him in the eyes. "P~Piper…" He whispered shakily, before falling to the ground.

As Percy walked over to finish her off, the daughter of Aphrodite had only one thought in her mind. "Please, Fates. _Please_, protect my son. Don't let this world lose him…"

**That's a wrap, I'm really not proud of the fight with the Seven, especially how quick it was, but I could **_**not **_**write a full battle scene involving Seven hoes, I can not do that right now. Next chapter's gonna be a short one, and I feel like y'all are really gonna like it. Since it's so short I'll write that next instead of updating No Choice, but it shouldn't take too long. Now, I am off to play Man of Medan with the hoes and our lil bro since we never got round to playing it. Goodbye.**

**Word Count: 3511**


	35. Chapter 35

"So, I don't know how many of you follow me, but if you don't then here's what's happening

I have schizophrenia, and after many months of shenanigans unbefitting of a normal person, my stepmom suggested I get take to get some help. I'm sure she meant see a doctor, but my dad took that to mean throw me in a mental hospital. My mom agreed, and threw me in

I did not react well. I tried to kill or at least injure a fellow patient, I hit two doctors for trying to force feed me meds, and I hurt myself by bashing my head against the wall. I was doing this because I hate that place, I hate being locked up. Professional help has never worked for me, not pills, not therapy, and certainly not a mental hospital. My parents, however, took these acts as a sign that I am in desperate need of this place. I've been twice, and today at around 2pm I go for a third time. Once that is over my parents and the doctors will decide whether I stay, and either I go home or they leave me there

My siblings and I are adamantly against it, but my parents don't listen to me because I'm 'not well', like my issues strip me of all my rights and freedoms. they wont listen to my sisters nor my girlfriend, who are all really distraught about this

I dont think I'll survive it. I genuinely don't. There's a 50/50 chance I'll have to stay, but if I do I'll be dead within a week. I would hang myself in my room. If i am confined to a cell for my life then maybe i don't want to live anymore. My brain is already rotting anyway. The way we see it, if they make me stay, we're all gonna die. I'm gonna hang myself, my girlfriend said she'd kill herself if I died, my twin's probably gonna OD because of it, and maybe a few years from now my sister will drink herself to death

I'm gonna tell my parents that

Anyway, since this might be our last night free together, me and the girls are having a blast, and I'm rn writing this while waiting for them to finish something outside. I have left Ari with the knowledge of what happens in the Dark Lord, so that if I did go away she may post that and you would all have some closure, or maybe she might even continue to write it. if i did go away, Sadie would post about it

So I leave you, with what is maybe my final message. Thank you for being here, for reading my shit stories. To my 140 followers, thank you. To my friends on here, love you

Love you all

Goodbye(?)


	36. Chapter 36

**Things are better**

As you can tell from the fact that I'm writing this, my parents did not go through with the mental hospital idea. We realised that we needed both parents permission to get me sent there, so we threatened our parents with a suicide pact and during the visit I just broke down for her to see. I guess that got through to her because she refused to sign and I am free!

Another Thing, I am technically married now. My girlfriend and I decided what the fuck, this might be our last night together, let's get married. So we did. We got ring pops, went down to our church and had the pastor marry us. We are 16 and we don't have a marriage license so we're not legally married but I think in the eyes of god we are.

Thank you for all those who supported me in what was probably the hardest point in my life. -STREEKIDZ PAIGE_9900 Ihave4cutedoggos thank you for talking to me

Thank you mars, love you

Anyway I'll probably post something soon enough, so look out for that.

I'm here to stay :)


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 35: Holy Matrimony

**This chapter's gonna be a short one, just one I felt I needed to write. Here you go :)**

Chapter 35: Holy Matrimony

_Days Earlier_

Artemis winced as the cold brush touched her face. She hadn't wanted makeup, but Larissa insisted she look her best that day. They weren't putting too much on anyhow, just a bit to lighten her face up and make her silver eyes stand out. Selena sat behind her, doing her hair as Artemis used to do to her when she was a girl. Those days were gone now, Selena had grown up, but Artemis thankfully had Sapphire to braid.

She missed when Selena was young. She'd tag along with the Hunt from Fall through to Spring and then spend the Summers at camp. She looked just like a female version of Percy, it was hard to look at her on the bad days. Then there was the time when Thalia shaved the sides of her head, giving her a mohawk that went down to her back, and then when Phoebe had given her a face tattoo that she kept for two weeks before Artemis made her get it taken off by Apollo. She still had slight marks on the left side of her face where the tattoo was once located, though it was very faint and you could only see it from up close. That was a weird time.

"So I don't get it. Why aren't you and dad already married?" Larissa asked, pulling away to look over her face. Artemis shrugged. "Technically we are, we just never had a wedding. Well actually, we technically did have a wedding, but it was on our couch." She said, and Selena stuck her head out from behind her.

"Oh yeah? And was the honeymoon on a couch as well?" She teased, and so Artemis decided to hit her back even harder. "Where do you think you were conceived?" She smirked, making Selena pale. "Forget I brought it up." She mumbled, making Larissa chuckle.

Larissa turned her head so she could get a bit on the side. "I thought you and dad didn't want to have the wedding until after the war, what happened to that?" She asked her mother. The goddess pursed her lips, not wanting to say what was on her mind for fear of it upsetting her daughters.

"We just…. Couldn't wait is all. It's been 17 years since we were together, Riss. Now that we're reunited we're making up for lost time." Artemis told her, and Selena decided to pipe in again. "I know. Sometimes you guys don't fully shut the door at night and we can all hear your 'making up for lost time.'" She jested.

When they were done with the makeup and hair, Larissa pulled the dress out of its box. A long white gown that was as tall as the goddess herself. It was strapless and sleeveless, and came with its own heels and bridal gloves. Selena rolled out on her swivel chair. "Aw, it's so beautiful." She said, scooting over and helping Larissa bring it over.

They helped their mother dress, and Artemis winced as they tightened the back. "It's like this thing is made for children." She cringed, looking at herself in the mirror. She thought it looked great, at least trying to see it from the eyes of Percy. The dress hugged her curves and complimented her medium skin and auburn hair. The silver eyeliner did its job as well.

They finished dressing her, and after a five minute break to have some drinks (only one of course), Larissa checked her watch. "Alright, we're due to start. Let's get going." She said, walking to the door of the eldest daughter's room and holding it open for her. Artemis nodded and put the beer bottle down, standing up and walking out with her daughters, both of whom were in their bridesmaid dresses to go meet with Nyx and Sapphire.

Percy stood at the altar patiently, not breaking a sweat, which was uncommon for a man in his position. Usually its the groom's job to sweat up a storm in the minutes leading up to his marriage, but Percy wasn't at all nervous about it. That just goes to show the amount of faith he had in this. He had no doubt Artemis would say yes, because he knew they loved each other. They had six children to show for it, though to be fair she only birthed one of them.

As Calix was the eldest, he was his father's best man, and he leaned over to the elder god. "Y'know, if you break her heart, I'm gonna kill you." He threatened with a grin, making Percy give him a quick side-glance. "I would clap you in a fight, boy." He said.

Urion leaned over from his place as a groomsman. "You already have, many times." He reminded the pair, and Calix blew a raspberry at him.

Achilles cringed. "Hey dad, keep the kiss nice and small. I don't really wanna stand here and watch my parents make out with each other." He pleaded, and Percy rolled his eyes. He almost felt like making the kiss spicy just to spite his second son, but decided that for the sake of everyone else in the room, he'd keep it PG.

Luke looked down at his watch, then back up at them from his seat in the front. "They should be here soon. Be ready." He warned them, and Percy immediately straightened himself out as he waited for his bride.

Artemis stood on the other side of the door, flanked by Larissa, Selena and Zoe. They were all giving her encouraging nods, and she took a few deep breaths as she prepared to open the doors. She felt a little tug on her right hand and she looked down. Sapphire looked up at her with a bright smile on her face, and she gently squeezed her mother's hand. Artemis smiled gratefully at her and opened the doors, still with her hand linked to Sapphire's.

Percy's breath hitched as the doors swung open, and five silhouettes appeared in the doorway. As the light flooded in on them, they revealed themselves to be five of the girls most dear to him. Artemis walked up with her left hand holding a bouquet, the other clutching their youngest daughter's hand tight. The girl in question had a basket on that arm, and with her other hand she picked flower petals out of it and threw them to the sides gracefully.

Larissa and Zoe helped hold up Artemis' long-ass dress, while Selena walked just behind and to the side of her mother as they approached the altar. When they got to the steps Sapphire gave Artemis' hand one last squeeze and let go, walking over to sit by Bianca and Silena.

The four women ascended the steps and the three bridesmaids went to stand to the side, with Selena being right next to Artemis. The goddess in question approached Percy, who smiled and took her hands. "You look beautiful." He whispered to her, making his wife blush. 'Thank you' she mouthed back, and they waited for Nyx to begin the ceremony.

They had told Nyx to keep it short, and not to bother with all the unnecessary shit that prolonged ceremonies. They just say their vows, say I do, then they're done. "Percy, do you want to go first?" She asked, and everyone turned their eyes on him.

He took a deep breath, going over what he had practised in his head for hours. "Artemis, I know we've technically been married for like 17 years, but we both wanted a real wedding with updated vows and witnesses and everything, so here goes."

"I promise that I will be faithful and loyal to you, moon. Uh, shit, sorry, I'm tryna remember our original vows." He sighed, looking over to the groomsmen and the bridesmaids. His children. The guys gave him a thumbs up, and Percy turned back to her.

"I've already given you five children, plus an additional little girl, and I even spared you from having to, uh, _incubate _five of them, which I know sucks. I promise that if you want any more, I'll use my power to spare you the pain of nine months morning sickness and weird cravings, if you want." His wife smiled, and Selena looked slightly offended, feeling like her dad was calling her out.

"I promise to love you, no matter how you act, how you look, you will always be mine, and I give myself up in order to be yours only." He swore, and Artemis looked down to stop herself from shedding tears.

It was too late for Selena, and Larissa rolled her eyes at her younger sister.

Artemis cleared her throat, deciding in the heat of the moment to wing it like Percy sorta did. "I... promise to love you with all my heart for all eternity. I promise, not only to you but also to our beautiful children," She said, looking between the sons and daughters of Perseus and Artemis. "that I will be the most loving mother they could ever have, and to the five of you who lived your whole lives without one, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you." She said, and said children smiled at her.

"I promise to be faithful to you, as I was for _17 years_," She reminded him, making Percy flush and give her a lopsided smirk. "and I vow that I will never feel for a man what I feel for you. I love you, Percy, and I'm glad to become your wife, for real this time." She finished, smiling as she rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb.

Nyx nodded. "Now, the rings?" Percy looked behind him, to Calix who stepped up with the ring fished out of his pocket, and on the other side Selena did the same.

Both Percy and Artemis took the rings from their children and presented them to each other. They were the same ones they had had for the last 17 years, freshly polished and shining bright as the day they were first worn.

Percy took her hand and slipped the ring on, while Artemis did the same with his. They compared jewellery, and Percy gave her a cheeky smile.

Nyx smiled. "Now for the best part. Percy, do you take Artemis, goddess of the hunt and moon to be your eternal wife and true love, you godly mate now and forever?" She asked, and Percy swallowed. "I do."

She turned to Artemis. "Artemis, do you take Percy, god of heroes and time to be your eternal husband and true love, your godly mate now and forever?" She relayed the same question to Artemis, who nodded without hesitation. "I do."

Nyx stepped back. "Then... I pronounce you god and wife. You may kiss the bride." She said, looking to Percy. Without any hesitation or consideration for his family and friends, he swooped his eternal wife into a deep and passionate kiss, one which she eagerly returned.

With the ceremony officially over, everyone in the room clapped, and the demigod spirits got up and moved all the chairs out of the way.

As they released from their kiss Percy and Artemis were overwhelmed by the hugs from their children, and Percy himself was almost bowled over by Sapphire.

Percy took Artemis' hand and she looked up at him. They both leaned in for another quick kiss, thoroughly grossing out the kids, before descending the stairs and heading for the door.

"Ahem." Urion said from Percy's left, and he rolled his eyes. The god snapped his fingers, bringing out half his liquor cabinet onto the tables. "Don't give any to your sister." He said, nodding to Sapphire.

Calix watched as the happy couple left the room to consummate their marriage and Selena took Sapphire off to find the apple juice, all the while ignorant to the gold mist floating behind him, gradually moving closer.

**I know what you're thinking. NO CHOICE. I know, I know. I just wanted to write this first. Idk when I'll update next. I'm sure you've seen on the news about the California fires. Unfortunately those things are spreading north of the border into Oregon, and there was like three big ones on the other side of Medford from me. Since we live in a forest in south Oregon, my dad has decided to pack us up and we're heading to Louisiana... into hurricane season. Good planning dad. But hey, I get to bring my girlfriend, I get to swim in alligator infested bayous, and I get to live in a small mansion so meh. Plus my grandparents have a very secure basement thanks to Hurricane Katrina so I'm gonna bunk w the girls in there thank you very much. But yeah, between that and my Halloween story i gotta write by 10/20 Idk when the NC chapter's gonna come out. Hell I might get bored n update BSC or Taste before then, who knows.**

**Word Count: 2194**


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